Most family doctors have given a placebo to at least one of their patients, survey findings suggest.

In a poll, 97% of 783 GPs admitted that they had recommended a sugar pill or a treatment with no established efficacy for the ailment their patient came in with. The PLOS One study authors say this may not be a bad thing - doctors are doing it to help, not to deceive patients.

The Royal College of GPs says there is a place for placebos in medicine. But they warn that some sham treatments may be inappropriate and could cause side effects or issues such as drug resistance.

For example, one of the placebo treatments identified in the study was antibiotics for suspected viral infections.

Dr Jeremy Howick, (co-author) University of Oxford and the University of Southampton - BBC online news article