History Main / SideEffectsInclude

* '''"Healthoxine. Because you're worth it."''' The "reminder" commercial alternates shots of flowered meadows, senior citizens, and doctors, all while saying generally positive things about nothing in particular and mentioning the name of the drug. This evades both mentioning the side effects and what the drug actually ''does''. This type is far less common these days; most commercials that still do this are the ones that give you help ''down there'', because, due to social mores, they can't directly name what their product does anyway. Some of these ads tried to skirt the issue by naming another drug indicated for the same thing.

* OlderThanPrint: The 6th-century Chinese medical text ''Records of the Rock Chamber''[[labelnote:Original title]]太清石壁記[[/labelnote]]list the following side effects for an alleged [[ElixirOfLife elixir of immortality]], and [[RefugeInAudacity suggests that this means the elixir is working]]. Modern toxicologists will instead recognise them as classic signs of acute mercury poisoning, a likely result of many Chinese "[[ImmortalitySeeker immortality elixirs]]" of the era (which as a rule contained cinnabar, a.k.a. mercury(II) sulfide).

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft III]]'': Clicking repeatedly on the Priest unit (the human side's healer) eventually results in him issuing the following disclaimer: "Side effects may include: Dry mouth, Nausea, Water retention, Painful rectal itch, Hallucinations, Psychosis, Coma, Death, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Halitosis]]. Magic is not for everyone, consult your doctor before use."

* There is an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'' where they want whiter teeth, so they get a special gel from Gaspar.

** Medications for alleviating menstrual cramps may be not recommended for people taking medication for prostate cancer. Eh? Well, it turns out that those meds are useful for treating ''other'' kinds of cramps that men can get. On the flip side, medications to treat enlarged prostates might warn against being taken by pregnant women, as they can be used for health issues that affect women as well.

** Some medicines may cause men to, as one commercial put it, "develop female breasts". That's probably a reference to hormonal treatments like steroids that can cause breast development in both sexes.

* ''VideoGame/WeHappyFew'': [[BigBrotherIsWatching Uncle Jack]] likes to assure the citizens of [[FalseUtopia Wellington Wells]] that any rumors that [[GovernmentDrugEnforcement Joy]] causes increased aggressiveness, memory loss, paranoia, and other nasty side effects are ''completely untrue''.

* The trope can also be invoked in non-medical contexts, like with computers, which ordinary people understand about as well as they understand the human body. Especially in environments like UsefulNotes/{{Linux}}, which give you the freedom to do a ''ton'' of things but come with the risk of completely borking your system. So a few programs will warn you that you might accidentally delete necessary files by using it wrong. The best example is probably the Synaptic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_manager package manager]], included by default in most variants of Ubuntu Linux, which used to have a textbox warning you to use the ''different'' program Software Centre unless you really knew what you were doing.

* OlderThanPrint: The 6th-century Chinese medical text ''Records of the Rock Chamber''[[label note:Original title]]太清石壁記[[/labelnote]]list the following side effects for an alleged [[ElixirOfLife elixir of immortality]], and [[RefugeInAudacity suggests that this means the elixir is working]]. Modern toxicologists will instead recognise them as classic signs of acute mercury poisoning, a likely result of many Chinese "[[ImmortalitySeeker immortality elixirs]]" of the era (which as a rule contained cinnabar, a.k.a. mercury(II) sulfide).

* OlderThanPrint: The 6th-century Chinese medical text ''Records of the Rock Chamber'' list the following side effects for an alleged [[ElixirOfLife elixir of immortality]], and [[RefugeInAudacity suggests that this means the elixir is working]]. Modern toxicologists will instead recognise them as classic signs of acute mercury poisoning, a likely result of many Chinese "[[ImmortalitySeeker immortality elixirs]]" of the era (which as a rule contained cinnabar, a.k.a. mercury(II) sulfide).
-->''After taking an elixir, if your face and body itch as though insects were crawling over them, if your hands and feet swell dropsically, if you cannot stand the smell of food and bring it up after you have eaten it, if you feel as though you were going to be sick most of the time, if you experience weakness in the four limbs, if you have to go often to the latrine, or if your head or stomach violently ache -- do not be alarmed or disturbed. All these effects are merely proofs that the elixir you are taking is successfully dispelling your latent disorders.''

* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'': One ad that plays on the radio is Commander Qwark selling a revolutionary product called Q-Pore.

-->''Your very own Hologram can be yours for [[PaymentPlanPitch just four easy payments of $17,000]]. Warning: holograms may not be exposed to water, microwaves, or smoke. Some holograms may contain trace elements of radon. Prolonged exposure may cause damage to the brain and throat. Once a hologram is created, it is a sentient being, and you are its legal guardian. The average lifespan of a hologram: 400 years. 40% of Holograms are instinctively evil. Please do not raise an all-hologram army.''

-->''Your very own [[Hologram]] can be yours for [[PaymentPlanPitch just four easy payments of $17,000]]. Warning: holograms may not be exposed to water, microwaves, or smoke. Some holograms may contain trace elements of radon. Prolonged exposure may cause damage to the brain and throat. Once a hologram is created, it is a sentient being, and you are its legal guardian. The average lifespan of a hologram: 400 years. 40% of Holograms are instinctively evil. Please do not raise an all-hologram army.''