🔗 Share this article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the manufacturers of Tylenol, alleging the firms hid safety concerns that the drug created to pediatric brain development.

The lawsuit comes four weeks after President Donald Trump publicized an unsubstantiated connection between consuming acetaminophen - referred to as paracetamol - while pregnant and autism spectrum disorder in children.

Paxton is filing suit against the pharmaceutical giant, which previously sold the drug, the exclusive pain medication approved for pregnant women, and the current manufacturer, which presently makes it.

In a statement, he stated they "deceived the public by profiting off of discomfort and promoting medication without regard for the risks."

Kenvue says there is lacking scientific proof linking acetaminophen to autism.

"These manufacturers misled for generations, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets," the attorney general, from the Republican party, declared.

The company said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the dissemination of inaccurate information on the reliability of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the well-being of American women and children."

On its official site, the company also stated it had "continuously evaluated the relevant science and there is lacking reliable evidence that indicates a proven link between consuming acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder."

Associations representing medical professionals and medical practitioners concur.

ACOG has said paracetamol - the key substance in Tylenol - is a restricted selection for women during pregnancy to treat discomfort and elevated temperature, which can present significant medical dangers if ignored.

"In over twenty years of studies on the consumption of acetaminophen in pregnancy, no reliable research has conclusively proven that the usage of paracetamol in any stage of gestation causes brain development issues in young ones," the association said.

The lawsuit cites recent announcements from the previous government in claiming the drug is allegedly unsafe.

In recent weeks, the former president generated worry from medical authorities when he told expectant mothers to "struggle intensely" not to consume acetaminophen when sick.

The FDA then released a statement that medical professionals should contemplate reducing the usage of acetaminophen, while also stating that "a causal relationship" between the drug and autism in minors has not been proven.

The Health Department head Kennedy, who manages the FDA, had vowed in April to conduct "comprehensive study program" that would identify the origin of autism in a limited time.

But specialists cautioned that discovering a sole reason of autism - considered by experts to be the consequence of a complicated interplay of inherited and external influences - would prove challenging.

Autism is a form of permanent neurological difference and condition that influences how individuals encounter and relate to the surroundings, and is recognized using doctors' observations.

In his legal document, the attorney general - a Trump ally who is campaigning for federal office - asserts Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "deliberately disregarded and attempted to silence the research" around paracetamol and autism.

This legal action seeks to make the companies "remove any promotional materials" that asserts acetaminophen is reliable for expectant mothers.

This legal action parallels the complaints of a group of parents of minors with autism and ADHD who sued the producers of Tylenol in 2022.

The court dismissed the lawsuit, stating research from the parents' expert witnesses was inconclusive.