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The state of Texas has filed a restraining order against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and its spin-off company Kenvue to put a stop to marketing Tylenol as safe during pregnancy.
The restraining order follows an ongoing lawsuit against the drugmaker and Kenvue for purported “deceptive marketing” practices for Tylenol.
Kenvue is a consumer health company that operates brands such as Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine and Neutrogena.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also wants the court to stop Kenvue from paying a $400 million dividend to shareholders while the case is ongoing. Paxton said the dividend, scheduled to be paid on Nov. 26, would “drain the company of hundreds of millions of dollars it will need to pay Texans for its illegal and unethical actions.”
WHY THIS MATTERS
In the lawsuit filed in October, the AG's office contends the companies “deceptively” marketed Tylenol to pregnant women “despite known dangers” to unborn children, including an increased risk of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Paxton reiterated this claim in the motion asking for a temporary restraining order.
“I will not allow Big Pharma to ruin the lives of Texans with their lies and then refuse to pay the bill when it’s brought to account,” he said in a statement. “Kenvue very well may be insolvent because of its own reckless actions, and it should no longer pay fraudulent dividends as a way to avoid paying future civil penalties.”
Paxton’s motion asks a judge to bar Kenvue from paying any dividends or making any extraordinary dispositions of corporate assets until a final judgment has been rendered in the case. Paxton is also seeking an injunction to stop what he called Kenvue’s “illegal and misleading marketing practices.”
THE LARGER TREND
President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have long advanced claims that Tylenol's active ingredient, acetaminophen, can cause autism in children – a claim that has been debunked. HHS said evidence does not definitively establish causality, but the consistent associations raise concern.
In September, JN Learning, an educational platform of the American Medical Association, weighed in on the controversy, citing a report that looked at whether acetaminophen use during pregnancy increases children’s risk of neurodevelopmental disorders.
The study, which used sibling controls of matched full sibling pairs, found no evidence of increased risk of autism or intellectual disability associated with acetaminophen use.
Other population-based studies without sibling controls identified marginally increased risks of autism and ADHD associated with acetaminophen use during pregnancy, the report said.
The study concluded that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability in sibling control analyses.