This article reminded me of the story about snake oil. At one time it was considered a traditional medicine. In the early 1900's products were sold claiming to contain snake oil but didn't. This lead to the modern usage of the term.
The term "blowing smoke" has a similar origin. There is an outdated and defunct medicinal practice of blowing smoke up one's rectum as a sort of cleanse. The of course turned to be of, uh, dubious effectiveness for curing ailments. Hence the modern term, blowing smoke, which means someone is bullshitting you.
In modern times smoke is replaced with coffee. And it can be deadly.