This of course, based on recent work by Derek Rucker and David Dubois, of the Kellogg School of Management, and Zakary Tormala, of Stanford business school, has an element of truth.  However it would also depend on the volume of interest and the reasons the rumors is circulating in the first place.  So the initial question of “does ouzo contain opium?” perhaps should be redefined as “why are you asking?”  It is more than possible that a number of people are looking for opium in ouzo as a positive thing!  Maybe ouzo brands should reinforce the rumors to increase sales!!

The analogy with Coke is not a random one of course.   According to most sources, Coca Cola did in fact contain cocaine in earlier versions of the recipe.  So maybe Coke and ouzo brands should collaborate on the matter because just imagine what would happen if you mix the (supposed) cocaine in Coke with the (imagined) opium in ouzo!

A more matter of fact analysis is in the page we dedicated to the matter of opium in ouzo here.