Texas Top Legal Officer Files Lawsuit Against Tylenol Manufacturers Concerning Autism Spectrum Claims
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the makers of Tylenol, asserting the corporations withheld alleged dangers that the drug created to pediatric brain development.
This legal action arrives a month after Donald Trump advocated an unverified association between taking Tylenol - alternatively called acetaminophen - while pregnant and autism in young ones.
The attorney general is suing the pharmaceutical giant, which formerly manufactured the medication, the only pain reliever suggested for expectant mothers, and Kenvue, which presently makes it.
In a declaration, he stated they "misled consumers by gaining financially from discomfort and promoting medication without regard for the potential hazards."
The manufacturer asserts there is no credible evidence connecting acetaminophen to autism.
"These corporations lied for decades, deliberately risking countless individuals to boost earnings," Paxton, from the Republican party, said.
Kenvue commented that it was "seriously troubled by the perpetuation of misinformation on the safety of acetaminophen and the likely effects that could have on the health of women and children in America."
On its official site, the company also mentioned it had "consistently assessed the applicable studies and there is no credible data that indicates a verified association between taking acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder."
Groups acting on behalf of physicians and medical practitioners concur.
The leading OB-GYN organization has said paracetamol - the key substance in acetaminophen - is among limited choices for expectant mothers to address discomfort and elevated temperature, which can create serious health risks if left untreated.
"In more than two decades of studies on the utilization of acetaminophen in gestation, not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the consumption of paracetamol in any period of pregnancy leads to neurological conditions in children," the association commented.
The lawsuit references latest statements from the previous government in arguing the drug is reportedly hazardous.
Last month, the former president raised alarms from public health officials when he instructed pregnant women to "fight like hell" not to consume acetaminophen when ill.
Federal regulators then issued a notice that doctors should consider limiting the use of Tylenol, while also mentioning that "a direct connection" between the medication and autism spectrum disorder in children has remains unverified.
The Health Department head RFK Jr, who supervises the FDA, had pledged in April to initiate "comprehensive study program" that would establish the cause of autism in a short period.
But experts cautioned that discovering a single cause of autism - believed by scientists to be the outcome of a intricate combination of genetic and surrounding conditions - would be difficult.
Autism is a type of enduring cognitive variation and condition that influences how people encounter and relate to the world, and is recognized using medical professional evaluations.
In his lawsuit, the attorney general - a Trump ally who is running for US Senate - claims Kenvue and J&J "willfully ignored and attempted to silence the research" around paracetamol and autism.
The lawsuit aims to force the firms "eliminate any marketing or advertising" that states acetaminophen is safe for expectant mothers.
This legal action parallels the complaints of a assembly of guardians of minors with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who filed suit against the manufacturers of acetaminophen in two years ago.
A federal judge dismissed the case, declaring investigations from the parents' expert witnesses was not conclusive.