The State of Texas Top Legal Officer Files Lawsuit Against Tylenol Makers Over Autism Spectrum Assertions
The top legal official in Texas Ken Paxton is suing the producers of Tylenol, asserting the corporations withheld safety concerns that the drug posed to children's cognitive development.
The lawsuit arrives four weeks after President Donald Trump advocated an unverified association between taking acetaminophen - alternatively called paracetamol - while pregnant and autism spectrum disorder in children.
The attorney general is filing suit against J&J, which once produced the medication, the sole analgesic suggested for expectant mothers, and the current manufacturer, which presently makes it.
In a official comment, he said they "deceived the public by making money from discomfort and pushing pills without regard for the potential hazards."
The manufacturer says there is no credible evidence connecting Tylenol to autism spectrum disorder.
"These companies lied for decades, deliberately risking countless individuals to boost earnings," the attorney general, a Republican, stated.
Kenvue said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation on the reliability of paracetamol and the likely effects that could have on the well-being of US mothers and children."
On its online platform, Kenvue also said it had "consistently assessed the relevant science and there is no credible data that demonstrates a proven link between taking paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."
Organizations representing physicians and medical practitioners agree.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has declared acetaminophen - the primary component in acetaminophen - is a restricted selection for women during pregnancy to manage pain and elevated temperature, which can pose serious health risks if not addressed.
"In multiple decades of investigation on the use of acetaminophen in gestation, no reliable research has successfully concluded that the consumption of paracetamol in any period of pregnancy causes brain development issues in children," the organization commented.
The court filing references current declarations from the previous government in arguing the medication is allegedly unsafe.
Recently, Trump generated worry from health experts when he told women during pregnancy to "fight like hell" not to consume Tylenol when ill.
The US Food and Drug Administration then released a statement that physicians should consider limiting the use of acetaminophen, while also stating that "a proven link" between the drug and autism spectrum disorder in children has not been established.
The Health Department head Kennedy, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration, had vowed in spring to initiate "a massive testing and research effort" that would identify the cause of autism spectrum disorder in a short period.
But experts warned that identifying a unique factor of autism - believed by scientists to be the consequence of a intricate combination of genetic and environmental factors - would prove challenging.
Autism is a category of permanent neurological difference and impairment that influences how people encounter and interact with the environment, and is recognized using medical professional evaluations.
In his legal document, the attorney general - who supports Trump who is seeking US Senate - claims Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "willfully ignored and tried to quiet the evidence" around paracetamol and autism.
The case seeks to make the companies "destroy any commercial messaging" that claims Tylenol is reliable for pregnant women.
This legal action mirrors the concerns of a collection of guardians of minors with autism and ADHD who filed suit against the producers of acetaminophen in two years ago.
The court threw out the lawsuit, stating studies from the family's specialists was not conclusive.