Treatments that are safe but not effective can be dangerous as well, if they replace or prevent access to other more effective treatments. There is a pretty vas

Treatments that are safe but not effective can be dangerous as well, if they replace or prevent access to other more effective treatments. There is a pretty vast information imbalance between doctors and patients, and patients may not always have the time or knowledge to investigate the effectiveness of a treatment. The FDA does this research for the patients, and approves what claims can be made by doctors about a given treatment's effectiveness.