🔗 Share this article

The top legal official in Texas Ken Paxton is suing the manufacturers of Tylenol, claiming the corporations withheld safety concerns that the medication posed to pediatric cognitive development.

The lawsuit comes four weeks after Former President Trump publicized an unproven link between using Tylenol - alternatively called acetaminophen - during pregnancy and autism in young ones.

The attorney general is taking legal action against Johnson & Johnson, which formerly manufactured the drug, the only pain reliever recommended for women during pregnancy, and Kenvue, which currently produces it.

In a declaration, he said they "misled consumers by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the potential hazards."

Kenvue says there is lacking scientific proof connecting acetaminophen to autism spectrum disorder.

"These corporations lied for decades, deliberately risking millions to increase profits," the attorney general, from the Republican party, stated.

The company said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the spread of false claims on the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the health of US mothers and children."

On its website, Kenvue also mentioned it had "regularly reviewed the pertinent research and there is no credible data that shows a established connection between using paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."

Organizations acting on behalf of physicians and healthcare providers share this view.

ACOG has stated paracetamol - the key substance in Tylenol - is one of the few options for expectant mothers to treat discomfort and fever, which can create serious health risks if ignored.

"In more than two decades of studies on the use of acetaminophen in gestation, zero credible investigations has definitively established that the use of acetaminophen in any stage of pregnancy results in neurodevelopmental disorders in young ones," the organization commented.

The lawsuit mentions current declarations from the former administration in asserting the medication is reportedly hazardous.

In recent weeks, the former president generated worry from public health officials when he instructed expectant mothers to "fight like hell" not to use acetaminophen when sick.

The US Food and Drug Administration then released a statement that doctors should contemplate reducing the consumption of Tylenol, while also mentioning that "a proven link" between the medication and autism spectrum disorder in children has not been established.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who supervises the FDA, had pledged in spring to conduct "extensive scientific investigation" that would establish the cause of autism in a matter of months.

But authorities warned that discovering a single cause of autism spectrum disorder - believed by scientists to be the outcome of a complicated interplay of inherited and external influences - would prove challenging.

Autism spectrum disorder is a form of permanent neurological difference and impairment that affects how persons experience and relate to the world, and is recognized using medical professional evaluations.

In his court filing, Paxton - aligned with the former president who is running for US Senate - claims Kenvue and J&J "deliberately disregarded and attempted to silence the research" around paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder.

This legal action attempts to require the firms "destroy any promotional materials" that asserts Tylenol is reliable for expectant mothers.

The court case mirrors the complaints of a group of mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who sued the makers of acetaminophen in two years ago.

The court dismissed the legal action, stating research from the parents' expert witnesses was lacking definitive proof.