🔗 Share this article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the makers of acetaminophen, alleging the companies withheld safety concerns that the medication posed to children's neurological development.

The lawsuit arrives thirty days after President Donald Trump promoted an unverified association between taking acetaminophen - alternatively called paracetamol - during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder in offspring.

The attorney general is suing J&J, which once produced the medication, the sole analgesic approved for women during pregnancy, and the current manufacturer, which now manufacturers it.

In a official comment, he said they "deceived the public by gaining financially from discomfort and promoting medication regardless of the dangers."

The company asserts there is no credible evidence connecting Tylenol to autism.

"These companies misled for generations, intentionally threatening countless individuals to increase profits," Paxton, from the Republican party, stated.

The manufacturer said in a statement that it was "very worried by the spread of false claims on the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the health of American women and children."

On its website, Kenvue also mentioned it had "consistently assessed the pertinent research and there is no credible data that indicates a verified association between consuming acetaminophen and autism."

Groups acting on behalf of medical professionals and health professionals concur.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated acetaminophen - the main ingredient in acetaminophen - is one of the few options for pregnant women to manage discomfort and fever, which can pose major wellness concerns if left untreated.

"In over twenty years of investigation on the consumption of paracetamol in pregnancy, no reliable research has definitively established that the usage of paracetamol in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurological conditions in young ones," the association stated.

This legal action mentions latest statements from the Trump administration in claiming the medication is reportedly hazardous.

Recently, Trump generated worry from public health officials when he instructed expectant mothers to "fight like hell" not to use acetaminophen when unwell.

Federal regulators then released a statement that physicians should think about restricting the usage of Tylenol, while also declaring that "a causal relationship" between the drug and autism in young ones has not been proven.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who oversees the FDA, had pledged in spring to conduct "a massive testing and research effort" that would identify the source of autism in a limited time.

But experts warned that identifying a sole reason of autism spectrum disorder - considered by experts to be the consequence of a complicated interplay of inherited and surrounding conditions - would not be simple.

Autism spectrum disorder is a type of enduring cognitive variation and disability that impacts how persons experience and relate to the environment, and is diagnosed using doctors' observations.

In his lawsuit, the attorney general - aligned with the former president who is seeking federal office - alleges the manufacturer and Johnson & Johnson "willfully ignored and attempted to silence the research" around acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder.

The lawsuit aims to force the companies "eliminate any promotional materials" that asserts Tylenol is secure for women during pregnancy.

The court case mirrors the grievances of a group of mothers and fathers of minors with autism and ADHD who took legal action against the manufacturers of acetaminophen in recently.

Judicial authorities dismissed the legal action, stating research from the plaintiffs' authorities was inconclusive.