Even while US President Donald Trump is embroiled in tariff’ wars with the rest of the World, he stirred another global controversy by diving into the debate around medications. Citing an investigation by his health department, Trump said in a press conference at the White House that there is a link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism, therefore, pregnant women should avoid taking it.
Trump further announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would soon issue a warning regarding this drug.
In the US, paracetamol is known as acetaminophen and is sold under the brand name Tylenol. Following Trump’s statement, panic spread not only across the U.S. but around the world.
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization and a renowned pediatrician, dismissed Trump’s claims as baseless. She stated that this medicine is thoroughly proven to be safe. In a media statement, Dr. Swaminathan emphasised that many studies have been conducted on paracetamol, suggesting that pregnant women can take it under a doctor’s supervision. She also noted that the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics considers paracetamol completely safe and permits its use.
Some pharmaceutical experts believe Trump’s statement is a result of internal conflicts within the American pharmaceutical lobby. The company that manufactures Tylenol, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, has faced multiple lawsuits over time. However, the company maintains that its product meets all safety standards. This company is a subsidiary of the world-renowned Johnson & Johnson.
WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević also told a press briefing in Geneva that, “The evidence remains inconsistent.”
“We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not really be questioned,” he was quoted as saying. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also clarified that there is no new evidence requiring changes to current recommendations regarding the use of paracetamol during pregnancy.
