White House Warns on Acetaminophen; Kenvue Disputes

At a White House news conference, President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned pregnant women that acetaminophen (Tylenol) may be linked to autism and signaled the FDA would issue updated guidance and launch a public campaign. Medical experts and public-health officials pushed back, saying decades of evidence support acetaminophen as the safest option for treating pain and fever in pregnancy and reiterating that vaccines are not linked to autism. Commentators and editorials noted the science is mixed and urged caution before changing guidance, with some suggesting plaintiffs’-bar influence behind the publicity. Former President Obama publicly condemned the Oval Office claims as undermining public health. Kenvue, maker of Tylenol, rapidly disputed the administration’s assertions, defended the product’s safety, and saw a modest premarket stock uptick amid analysts’ warnings about potential legal exposure while markets generally treated the episode as one-day noise.