Attor­ney Gen­er­al Pax­ton Sues Big Phar­ma Man­u­fac­tur­ers for Decep­tive­ly Mar­ket­ing Tylenol to Preg­nant Moth­ers Despite Known Dan­gers to Unborn Children

Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue for deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers despite knowing that early exposure to acetaminophen, Tylenol’s only active ingredient, leads to a significantly increased risk of autism and other disorders. “Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.” For decades, Johnson & Johnson willfully ignored and attempted to silence the science that prenatal and early-childhood exposure to their acetaminophen products can cause Autism and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (“ADHD”) in children. Despite being well aware of this fact, Tylenol was marketed as a completely safe pain medication for pregnant women, violating Texas’s consumer protection laws. The considerable body of evidence demonstrating these dangers was recently highlighted by the Trump Administration. Further, Johnson & Johnson violated the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act by fraudulently transferring liabilities arising from Tylenol to a separate company, Kenvue, in order to shield their assets against lawsuits arising from the harmful impact Tylenol had on children. Attorney General Paxton has relentlessly fought against Big Pharma’s destruction of America’s health and safety, suing Pfizer over the COVID-19 vaccine and taking action against Eli Lilly for bribing providers to prescribe its medications. Previously, Attorney General Paxton secured a $700 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson for making misleading and deceptive claims about its baby powder products that contained talc.