Texas Attorney General Takes Legal Action Against Tylenol Makers Regarding Autism Assertions
The top legal official in Texas Ken Paxton is suing the producers of Tylenol, claiming the corporations concealed potential risks that the drug posed to children's brain development.
The court filing follows four weeks after President Donald Trump promoted an unverified association between taking acetaminophen - also known as paracetamol - while pregnant and autism spectrum disorder in young ones.
The attorney general is taking legal action against the pharmaceutical giant, which once produced the drug, the only pain reliever approved for pregnant women, and Kenvue, which currently produces it.
In a declaration, he stated they "misled consumers by profiting off of discomfort and promoting medication regardless of the potential hazards."
The company says there is insufficient reliable data connecting Tylenol to autism.
"These companies deceived for years, knowingly endangering millions to increase profits," the attorney general, from the Republican party, stated.
The company stated officially that it was "very worried by the perpetuation of misinformation on the security of paracetamol and the potential impact that could have on the health of American women and children."
On its website, the company also stated it had "continuously evaluated the applicable studies and there is no credible data that shows a proven link between consuming paracetamol and autism."
Groups acting on behalf of medical professionals and health professionals concur.
ACOG has said acetaminophen - the primary component in Tylenol - is among limited choices for women during pregnancy to treat pain and elevated temperature, which can pose serious health risks if ignored.
"In multiple decades of investigation on the consumption of acetaminophen in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has conclusively proven that the consumption of paracetamol in any trimester of gestation results in neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring," the organization commented.
This legal action cites current declarations from the previous government in asserting the medication is reportedly hazardous.
Last month, the former president generated worry from public health officials when he advised expectant mothers to "struggle intensely" not to take acetaminophen when unwell.
Federal regulators then released a statement that physicians should think about restricting the usage of acetaminophen, while also declaring that "a proven link" between the medication and autism spectrum disorder in children has remains unverified.
The Health Department head RFK Jr, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration, had vowed in spring to conduct "extensive scientific investigation" that would identify the source of autism spectrum disorder in a matter of months.
But specialists cautioned that finding a unique factor of autism - thought by researchers to be the consequence of a complicated interplay of genetic and surrounding conditions - would be difficult.
Autism is a category of permanent neurological difference and condition that affects how people perceive and engage with the world, and is diagnosed using doctors' observations.
In his lawsuit, Paxton - who supports Trump who is seeking US Senate - asserts Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "intentionally overlooked and tried to quiet the evidence" around acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder.
The lawsuit aims to force the firms "eliminate any commercial messaging" that states Tylenol is secure for expectant mothers.
This legal action mirrors the complaints of a group of parents of minors with autism and ADHD who took legal action against the manufacturers of Tylenol in recently.
The court rejected the case, saying studies from the plaintiffs' authorities was inconclusive.