Does taking large amounts of vitamins protect against cancer? To study this question, researchers enrolled 29,000 Finnish men, all smokers over the age of 50. Half of the men, selected at random, took vitamin supplements, and others took a dummy pill that has no active ingredient. The researchers followed all the men for eight years. At the end of the study, men in the vitamin group were no less likely to have cancer than men in the other group. This study cast doubt on the popular idea that taking lots of vitamins can reduce the risk of cancer.
The study design looked like this:
The label for the dummy pill treatment should appear in the outline at the point marked "Question B." What is this label?
A) Random allocation
B) Placebo
C) Vitamins
D) Cancer
E) Finnish men

Question

Does taking large amounts of vitamins protect against cancer? To study this question, researchers enrolled 29,000 Finnish men, all smokers over the age of 50. Half of the men, selected at random, took vitamin supplements, and others took a dummy pill that has no active ingredient. The researchers followed all the men for eight years. At the end of the study, men in the vitamin group were no less likely to have cancer than men in the other group. This study cast doubt on the popular idea that taking lots of vitamins can reduce the risk of cancer.
The study design looked like this: 
The label for the dummy pill treatment should appear in the outline at the point marked "Question B." What is this label?
A) Random allocation 
B) Placebo 
C) Vitamins 
D) Cancer 
E) Finnish men

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The label for the dummy pill treatment is placebo, as stated in the question.

Does Taking Large Amounts of Vitamins Protect Against Cancer? to Study