snake oil made me sssssssick (yes the dad jokes are weak today)

No, snake oil is extremely bad. It's a highly exploitative practice that preys on the desperation of sick people.

That's what "snake oil" refers to. Exploiting someone by playing their emotions.

The placebo effect actually works.

The placebo effect sometimes works. But only in very specific circumstances. A placebo will not cure cancer or heart disease.

It can help with things related to pain, as mental and emotional state can directly affect the severity of pain. And a placebo can sometimes marginally improve symptoms by reducing stress levels. But that's why placebos are used during drug trials. If a drug produces the same results as a placebo, then it doesn't work. And that says a lot about what the placebo effect actually is. It's just a mental state change that gets expressed as reduced physiological stress.