Friday, May 15, 2009

Breathe Right: Do they work?

GSK has been very aggressive in marketing the Breathe Right Nasal strips and the sales volume speaks for itself. Its in the papers, on the radio and everywhere you are sure bound to hear about it.

Does it really work? - that's what everyone always ask. Well first of all, it is printed on the box...

Breathe Right Nasal Strips open your nose to
-Reduce snoring
-Relieve nasal congestion
-Breathe better

Despite this, I guarantee you 9 out of 10 customers will come and buy this product to stop snoring. Why? because...that's how it was advertised. The radio ads featured 'Ways to stop your partner from snoring' and this is very effective. The message that consumers hear is 'buy this product to stop snoring'.

I can also tell you that 100% of return customers tell me that this product does not work for snoring (my wife can testify to that too). In fact, this is not a new product. It has been in the market for quite a long time. I remember seeing athletes wearing it a long time ago as you can see from the young Robbie Fowler in the picture below (which was taken in 1998).

That picture was taken from this news report (HERE) which also claims that the strips were ineffective when used by athletes. Having tried out this product myself, I can say that it does open up my nostrils. However, having big nostrils doesn't mean you won't snore right? If its true then all gweilos won't snore...

So the answer is no, it does not work.