What Happened to Snake Oil?

The historical roots of "snake oil" trace back to traditional Chinese medicine, where oil derived from Chinese water snakes was genuinely used for centuries as an anti-inflammatory agent, effective due to its high omega-3 fatty acid content. Chinese laborers who immigrated to the United States in the 1840s to build the Transcontinental Railroad brought this remedy with them.

However, in the late 19th-century American West, opportunistic entrepreneurs, often referred to as "snake oil salesmen," appropriated the term. These hucksters, like the infamous Clark Stanley, the "Rattlesnake King," sold concoctions they falsely advertised as cure-alls. Stanley's dramatic demonstrations involved killing rattlesnakes and boiling them to extract oil, but his product, "Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment," was later found by the U.S. government in 1916 to contain primarily mineral oil, beef fat, red pepper, and turpentine, with no actual snake oil. This misbranding case solidified "snake oil" in popular culture as a symbol of fraud and quackery.

The lack of federal regulation in the United States until the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act allowed these patent medicines, often containing addictive substances like alcohol or opium, to proliferate, preying on a public desperate for medical solutions in an era of limited scientific understanding. The theatrical marketing of these salesmen, using pseudo-scientific claims and shills, was highly effective in convincing audiences of their products' miraculous powers.

In the 21st century, the term "snake oil" remains highly relevant, adapting to new forms of deception. It is frequently used to describe false health products, dietary supplements with unproven efficacy, and unsubstantiated claims in the wellness industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous unproven "cures" and preventative measures were widely denounced as modern "snake oil." Beyond medicine, the metaphor has expanded to encompass misleading claims in technology, such as exaggerated promises about artificial intelligence, and deceptive rhetoric in politics.

The rise of social media has provided a new, global platform for modern "snake oil salesmen," who now operate as online influencers promoting fraudulent investment schemes, unproven health products, and conspiracy theories. Regulators are actively responding to these contemporary challenges. In 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice reported record-breaking False Claims Act recoveries, with over $5.7 billion stemming from healthcare fraud. As of May 2026, there is continued scrutiny from the FTC and state attorneys general on misleading marketing, particularly concerning unapproved GLP-1 weight loss drugs and the oversight of AI in healthcare, reflecting ongoing efforts to combat modern forms of "snake oil."