View source for Snake oil

{{Short description|Euphemism for false advertising}}
{{Other uses|Snake oil (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment.png|thumb|[[Clark Stanley]]'s Snake Oil]]

"'''Snake oil'''" is a term used to describe [[False advertising|deceptive marketing]], [[health care fraud]], or a [[scam]]. Similarly, '''snake oil salesman''' is a common label used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraudulent cure, remedy, or solution.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/snake-oil+salesman|title=snake oil salesman|publisher=The Free Dictionary|access-date=29 June 2021|archive-date=13 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213074929/https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/snake-oil+salesman|url-status=live}}</ref> The term comes from the [[:wikt:snake oil|snake oil]] that was sold as a cure-all elixir for many kinds of physiological problems. Many 18th-century European and 19th-century United States entrepreneurs advertised and sold [[mineral oil]] (often mixed with various [[Active ingredient|active]] and [[Inactive ingredient|inactive]] household herbs, spices, drugs, and compounds, but containing no snake-derived substances whatsoever) as "snake oil [[liniment]]", making claims about its efficacy as a [[Panacea (medicine)|panacea]]. [[Patent medicine]]s that claimed to be panaceas were extremely common from the 18th century until the 20th century, particularly among vendors masking addictive drugs such as [[cocaine]], [[amphetamine]], [[Alcohol (drug)|alcohol]], and [[opium]]-based concoctions or [[elixir]]s, to be sold at [[medicine show]]s as medication or products promoting health.

==History==
[[File:1751 - Juan de Loeches.png|thumb|A snake oil recipe from 1719/1751 (Juan de Loeches, ''Tyrocinium Pharmaceticum''), printed in Spain]]

[[Patent medicine]]s originated in England, where a patent was granted to Richard Stoughton's [[Bitters|elixir]] in 1712.<ref name="snakeoil">{{cite journal |url=http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/peddling_snake_oil/ |title=Peddling Snake Oil; Investigative Files |date=1 December 1998 |publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] |last=Nickell |first=J |volume=8 |issue=4 |access-date=4 December 2011 |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |archive-date=21 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921095851/https://www.csicop.org/sb/show/peddling_snake_oil |url-status=live }}</ref> There were no federal regulations in the United States concerning the safety and effectiveness of drugs until the 1906 [[Pure Food and Drug Act]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/changes-science-law-and-regulatory-authorities/long-struggle-law |title=The Long Struggle for the Law |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508081817/https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/changes-science-law-and-regulatory-authorities/long-struggle-law |url-status=dead }}</ref> Thus, the widespread marketing and availability of dubiously advertised patent medicines without known properties or origin persisted in the US for a much greater number of years than in Europe.

[[File:An itinerant salesman adorned with snakes selling trinkets-c Wellcome V0016276.jpg|thumb|left|Itinerant salesman in Rome draped with snakes]]

In 18th-century Europe, especially in Britain, [[Viperidae|viper]] oil had been commonly recommended for many afflictions, including the ones for which oil from the [[rattlesnake]] (pit viper), a type of viper native to America, was subsequently favored to treat [[rheumatism]] and [[Cutaneous condition|skin diseases]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Rattlesnakes, vol II |last=Klauber |first=Laurence M. |date=1997 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |page=1050}}</ref> Though there are accounts of oil obtained from the fat of various vipers in the Western world, the claims of its effectiveness as a medicine have never been thoroughly examined, and its efficacy is unknown. It is also likely that much of the snake oil sold by Western entrepreneurs was illegitimate, and did not contain ingredients derived from any kind of snake. Snake oil in the United Kingdom and the United States probably contained modified [[mineral oil]]. [[William Rockefeller Sr.]], the father of [[John D. Rockefeller]], peddled literal snake oil.<ref>{{cite book|last=Olsen|first=Brad|title=Beyond Esoteric: Escaping Prison Planet|date=14 January 2021|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8a8LEAAAQBAJ|publisher=CCC Publishing|publication-date=2021|page=117|isbn=9781888729757|access-date=16 July 2022|quote=[...] William Rockefeller, father to the first billionaire John D. [...] was a literal snake oil salesman and con artist who sold 'cancer cures' to women door-to-door.|archive-date=16 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716045229/https://books.google.com/books?id=8a8LEAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Snake-oil salesman Professor Thaddeus Schmidlap at Enchanted Springs Ranch, Boerne, Texas, USA 28650a.jpg|thumb|A historical reenactor representing a traveling snake oil salesman from the United States in 2014.]]

A common [[Trope (cinema)|trope]] in [[Western (genre)|Western]] films, selling snake oil is portrayed as a [[confidence trick]]: a traveling salesman purports to be a doctor (with false credentials), selling [[Counterfeit medications|fake medicines]] with boisterous [[marketing hype]], and supported by [[pseudoscience| pseudo-scientific]] evidence. To increase sales, an accomplice in the crowd (a [[shill]] or a "toadie") will often attest to the value of the product in an effort to provoke buying enthusiasm. The "doctor" will leave town before his customers realize they have been cheated. This trope is associated with the [[American frontier|American Old West]]. However, the famous [[Judgment (law)|judgment]] that sparked the most controversy happened in 1916, when [[Stanley's Snake Oil]] was discovered to contain no actual snake oil, creating the notion that bottles of snake oil (and their salesmen) were essentially a fraud.<ref name=npr2013>[https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/26/215761377/a-history-of-snake-oil-salesmen A History Of 'Snake Oil Salesmen'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421040855/https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/26/215761377/a-history-of-snake-oil-salesmen |date=21 April 2023 }}, August 26, 2013, Lakshmi Gandhi</ref> That case took place in [[Rhode Island]], and involved snake oil being shipped to [[Massachusetts]], far away from and substantially later than the Old West.<ref>{{Citation |title=American frontier |date=2025-08-19 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_frontier&oldid=1306688966 |access-date=2025-08-25 |language=en}}</ref>

==From cure-all to quackery==
[[File:SnakeOilDecision.jpg|thumb|A report of the 1916 decision of the United States District Court for [[Rhode Island]], fining Clark Stanley $20 for "misbranding" its "Clark Stanley Snake Oil Liniment".]]

[[Clark Stanley]]'s Snake Oil Liniment&nbsp;– produced by Clark Stanley, the "Rattlesnake King"&nbsp;– was tested by the United States government's [[Bureau of Chemistry]], the precursor to the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) in 1916.<ref name="Chemistry 1917">{{cite book |last=Chemistry |first=United States Bureau of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Og7AAAAYAAJ&q=%22snake+oil%22&pg=PA592 |title=Service and Regulatory Announcements |date=1917 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723155218/https://books.google.com/books?id=-Og7AAAAYAAJ&q=%22snake+oil%22&pg=PA592#v=snippet&q=%22snake%20oil%22&f=false |archive-date=23 July 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was found to contain: mineral oil, 1% fatty oil (assumed to be [[tallow]]), [[capsaicin]] from [[chili pepper]]s, [[turpentine]], and [[camphor]].<ref name="snakeoil" />

In 1916, subsequent to the passage of the [[Pure Food and Drug Act]] in 1906, Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment was examined by the Bureau of Chemistry, and found to be drastically [[overpriced]] and of limited value. As a result, Stanley faced [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] prosecution for peddling mineral oil in a fraudulent manner as snake oil. In his 1916 [[Civil law (common law)|civil]] hearing instigated by federal [[prosecutor]]s in the [[United States district court|U.S. District Court]] for Rhode Island, Stanley [[Pleading|pleaded]] ''[[nolo contendere]]'' (no contest) to the allegations against him, giving no [[Admission (law)|admission]] of [[Guilt (law)|guilt]].<ref name="Chemistry 1917"/> His plea was accepted, and as a result, he was fined $20<ref name="Chemistry 1917"/> (about ${{Inflation|US|20|1916|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{Inflation/fn|US}}

The term ''snake oil'' has since been established in popular culture as a reference to any worthless concoction sold as medicine, and has been extended to describe a wide-ranging degree of fraudulent goods, services, ideas, and activities such as worthless rhetoric in politics. By further extension, a '''snake oil salesman''' is commonly used in English to describe a [[Quackery|quack]], [[huckster]], or [[charlatan]].

==Modern implications==
{{See also|COVID-19 misinformation#Herbal treatments}}

False health products described by medical experts as "snake oil" continue to be marketed during the 21st century, including [[herbal medicines]], [[dietary supplement]]s, products such as [[standing bell|Tibetan singing bowls]] (when used for [[healing]]) and treatments such as [[vaginal steaming]]. The company [[Goop (company)|Goop]] has been accused of "selling snake oil" in some of its health products and recommendations.<ref name="MedPageGoop">{{cite news |last1=Berman |first1=Michele R. |last2=Boguski |first2=Mark S. |title=Gwyneth Paltrow's Snake Oil |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/celebritydiagnosis/77733 |access-date=15 June 2021 |work=www.medpagetoday.com |date=31 January 2019 |language=en |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214234650/https://www.medpagetoday.com/popmedicine/celebritydiagnosis/77733 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NASAGoop">{{cite news |last1=Belluz |first1=Julia |title=NASA just debunked Gwyneth Paltrow's latest snake oil |url=https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/6/23/15861586/gwyneth-paltrow-nasa-healing-stickers |access-date=15 June 2021 |work=Vox |date=23 June 2017 |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213074928/https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/6/23/15861586/gwyneth-paltrow-nasa-healing-stickers |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the [[Xinhua News Agency]] claimed that the herbal product ''[[Shuanghuanglian]]'' can prevent or treat infections from [[coronavirus]]es, stimulating sales across the United States, Russia, and China. However, the clinical studies on its effectiveness have been inconclusive.<ref>{{cite news |last=Palmer |first=James |title=Chinese Media Is Selling Snake Oil to Fight the Wuhan Virus |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/03/tcm-shuanghuanglian-pseudoscience-chinese-media-is-selling-snake-oil-to-fight-the-wuhan-virus/ |access-date=3 April 2020 |work=Foreign Policy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205162551/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/03/tcm-shuanghuanglian-pseudoscience-chinese-media-is-selling-snake-oil-to-fight-the-wuhan-virus/|archive-date=5 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=James |last2=Selzer |first2=Jordan |last3=Noll |first3=Samantha |last4=Alptunaer |first4=Timur |title=Opinion : Covid-19 Has Closed Stores, but Snake Oil Is Still for Sale |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/fake-treatment-cure-coronavirus.html |work=The New York Times |date=31 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401191016/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/fake-treatment-cure-coronavirus.html|archive-date=1 April 2020}}</ref> Su et al. published a report that the herbal substance has been shown ''[[in vitro]]'' to be [[cytotoxic]] "against a clinical isolate of SARS-CoV-2".<ref name="su20">{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/s41401-020-0483-6|title=Anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities in vitro of Shuanghuanglian preparations and bioactive ingredients|year=2020|last1=Su|first1=Hai-xia|last2=Yao|first2=Sheng|last3=Zhao|first3=Wen-Feng|last4=Li|first4=Min-jun|last5=Liu|first5=Jia|last6=Shang|first6=Wei-Juan|last7=Xie|first7=Hang|last8=Ke|first8=Chang-Qiang|last9=Hu|first9=Hang-Chen|last10=Gao|first10=Mei-na|last11=Yu|first11=Kun-Qian|last12=Liu|first12=Hong|last13=Shen|first13=Jing-Shan |last14=Tang|first14=Wei |last15=Zhang|first15=Lei-ke |last16=Xiao|first16=Geng-fu |last17=Ni|first17=Li |last18=Wang|first18=Dao-wen |last19=Zuo|first19=Jian-Ping |last20=Jiang|first20=Hua-Liang |last21=Bai|first21=Fang| last22=Wu|first22=Yan |last23=Ye|first23=Yang |last24=Xu|first24=Ye-Chun|journal=Acta Pharmacologica Sinica|volume=41|issue=9|pages=1167–1177|pmid=32737471|pmc=7393338}}</ref> However, another government media outlet, [[People’s Daily]], published a contrasting report urging citizens not to purchase the herbal remedy as it had not been recommended for coronavirus antiviral treatment and treatment measures had not passed clinical trials.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gan|first=Nectar|title=A traditional Chinese remedy said to help fight Wuhan coronavirus sparks skepticism -- and panic buying|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/asia/chinese-traditional-medicine-claims-coronavirus-intl-scli-hnk/index.html|agency=CNN|date=1 Feb 2020|access-date=6 February 2024|archive-date=5 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205162551/https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/01/asia/chinese-traditional-medicine-claims-coronavirus-intl-scli-hnk/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[Beecham's Pills]]
* [[Daffy's Elixir]]
* [[Dalby's Carminative]]
* [[False advertising]]
* [[Gerin oil]]
* [[Hadacol]]
* [[Homeopathy]]
* [[Lydia Pinkham]]
* [[MLM companies]]
* [[Nine oils]]
* [[Orvietan]]
* [[Patent medicine]]
* [[Revalenta arabica]]
* [[Turlington's Balsam]]
* [[:zh:狗皮膏]] (''gǒupí gāo'', "dog-skin poultice"), a Chinese term similarly used to describe fraudulent medicine

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisourcecat}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/08/26/215761377/a-history-of-snake-oil-salesmen|access-date=6 July 2014|title=A History Of 'Snake Oil Salesmen'|work=Code Switch|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|date=26 August 2013|first=Lakshmi|last=Gandhi}}
* {{cite book|last1=Behn|first1=A. R.|title=Secret remedies, what they cost and what they contain, based on analyses made for the British Medical Association|date=1909|publisher=British Medical Association|url=https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b23982160|access-date=25 August 2020}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20250825153554/https://www.si.edu/object/clark-stanleys-snake-oil-liniment%3Anmah_1298331 Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment]. National Museum of American History. Retrieved 25 August 2025.

{{Pseudoscience}}
[[Category:Fraud]]
[[Category:Patent medicines]]
[[Category:Ointments]]
[[Category:Metaphor]]
[[Category:Oils]]