Flush your pills and pick up a bottle of breath fresheners. Tic-tacs are the latest in antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication.

“I used to be on Fluoxetine for my anxiety and depression,” said SMSU freshman Karrie Nava. “But I didn’t like the idea of being traditionally medicated, so I tried replacing one daily Fluoxetine with tic-tacs three times a day. My anxiety is at the same level as when I was taking my daily pill.”

What’s in the mints? Tic-tacs are made with sugar, maltodextrin, rice starch, gum arabic, magnesium sterate, carnauba wax and flavorings. Each piece is less than 2 calories, less than .5g of anything else and resembles a pill.

Why are results showing tic tacs to be effective? Researchers say it is a placebo effect.

“A placebo is a substance or other kind of treatment that looks like a regular treatment or medicine, but it’s not,” defined the American Cancer Society’s website. “It’s actually an inactive ‘look-alike’ treatment or substance.”

Before you go through with flushing your anti-depressants, talk to your doctor. What works for someone else, may not work for you.