Texas Attorney General Sues Tylenol Producers Over Autism Allegations
Texas Attorney General Paxton is filing a lawsuit against the makers of Tylenol, alleging the firms withheld potential risks that the pain reliever created to pediatric brain development.
The court filing comes thirty days after Donald Trump advocated an unverified association between using acetaminophen - alternatively called paracetamol - while pregnant and autism spectrum disorder in young ones.
Paxton is suing the pharmaceutical giant, which once produced the drug, the only pain reliever suggested for women during pregnancy, and the current manufacturer, which presently makes it.
In a declaration, he said they "deceived the public by gaining financially from discomfort and promoting medication without regard for the dangers."
The manufacturer says there is lacking scientific proof connecting acetaminophen to autism.
"These manufacturers lied for decades, knowingly endangering numerous people to line their pockets," the attorney general, a Republican, said.
Kenvue commented that it was "seriously troubled by the spread of false claims on the safety of acetaminophen and the possible consequences that could have on the well-being of women and children in America."
On its official site, the company also said it had "continuously evaluated the relevant science and there is lacking reliable evidence that demonstrates a proven link between using paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."
Groups representing doctors and medical practitioners concur.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said acetaminophen - the main ingredient in Tylenol - is a restricted selection for expectant mothers to manage discomfort and elevated temperature, which can pose serious health risks if left untreated.
"In multiple decades of investigation on the utilization of paracetamol in gestation, zero credible investigations has definitively established that the usage of acetaminophen in any period of pregnancy results in neurological conditions in children," the organization said.
The lawsuit mentions latest statements from the previous government in arguing the drug is allegedly unsafe.
In recent weeks, the former president raised alarms from health experts when he instructed expectant mothers to "struggle intensely" not to take Tylenol when sick.
The FDA then published an announcement that doctors should contemplate reducing the use of Tylenol, while also mentioning that "a proven link" between the drug and autism in minors has not been established.
The Health Department head RFK Jr, who oversees the FDA, had pledged in spring to conduct "extensive scientific investigation" that would identify the origin of autism spectrum disorder in a matter of months.
But experts warned that finding a sole reason of autism - believed by scientists to be the consequence of a intricate combination of inherited and environmental factors - would prove challenging.
Autism spectrum disorder is a form of permanent neurological difference and condition that influences how people experience and interact with the surroundings, and is diagnosed using physician assessments.
In his court filing, the attorney general - a Trump ally who is campaigning for US Senate - asserts Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "deliberately disregarded and tried to quiet the evidence" around paracetamol and autism.
This legal action seeks to make the companies "destroy any commercial messaging" that claims Tylenol is safe for expectant mothers.
This legal action mirrors the complaints of a assembly of parents of children with autism and ADHD who took legal action against the manufacturers of Tylenol in recently.
The court dismissed the legal action, saying studies from the plaintiffs' authorities was inconclusive.