Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General, has sued Kenvue, the current manufacturer of Tylenol, and its former parent company Johnson & Johnson.
Complaint filed against Tylenol
Its reasons: the companies have allegedly sued over the sale of the painkiller Tylenol for an alleged causal link with autism.
This complaint is yet another action concerning a possible link between pregnant women taking Tylenol and autism in their children, a theory previously supported by Donald Trump.
Another accusation
This is not the first time these accusations have been raised.
This action comes after Donald Trump warned pregnant women against taking Tylenol, despite the lack of scientific evidence for this hypothesis.
This thinking, described by some as conspiratorial towards “Big Pharma” companies, is supported by the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement, of which Ken Paxton is a supporter. This movement includes a number of political figures, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Reaction from Tylenol manufacturers
Kenvue, the current manufacturer of Tylenol, called Paxton’s complaint “baseless”.
The company is concerned by these accusations, which lack scientific proof, because of the misinformation circulating about painkillers and the impact this could have on the health of American women and children.
In fact, acetaminophen is the only over-the-counter medication authorized to treat fever during pregnancy.
Johnson & Johnson, the previous manufacturer of Tylenol, reiterates that all rights and responsibilities associated with the sale of Tylenol now belong to Kenvue. Paxton uses these statements to prove his point: according to him, the company has carried out an internal assessment of this hypothesis, which suggests a link with autism and attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD).
The opinion of health authorities
The U.S. Foodand Drug Administration (FDA) suggests a “possible association” between prenatal acetaminophen and autism.acetaminophen and autism, but the agency states that no causal link has been proven or established.
Indeed, some studies have found no association between autism and the use of Tylenol.
However, the agency plans to initiate a procedure to modify the Tylenol label to warn that the use of acetaminophen could be associated with an increased risk of disorders such as autism or ADHD.
Criminal record
Similar complaints had already been grouped together in 2022 in New York, but rejected for lack of reliable scientific evidence. This decision is now being appealed.
Texas thus becomes the first state to revive this legal battle against the manufacturers of the world’s most widely used painkiller.