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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the makers of acetaminophen, asserting the firms concealed potential risks that the pain reliever presented to children's cognitive development.

The court filing follows a month after President Donald Trump advocated an unverified association between taking acetaminophen - also known as paracetamol - throughout gestation and autism spectrum disorder in children.

The attorney general is filing suit against J&J, which previously sold the drug, the sole analgesic recommended for pregnant women, and the current manufacturer, which presently makes it.

In a statement, he said they "deceived the public by making money from suffering and promoting medication without regard for the potential hazards."

The manufacturer says there is lacking scientific proof tying Tylenol to autism spectrum disorder.

"These corporations misled for generations, intentionally threatening numerous people to boost earnings," the attorney general, a Republican, said.

The company commented that it was "very worried by the perpetuation of misinformation on the reliability of paracetamol and the potential impact that could have on the welfare of American women and children."

On its online platform, the company also said it had "regularly reviewed the relevant science and there is insufficient valid information that indicates a established connection between taking paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."

Groups representing doctors and health professionals share this view.

ACOG has said acetaminophen - the primary component in Tylenol - is one of the few options for expectant mothers to manage discomfort and fever, which can present serious health risks if ignored.

"In over twenty years of research on the use of paracetamol in pregnancy, zero credible investigations has definitively established that the use of paracetamol in any trimester of gestation leads to neurodevelopmental disorders in young ones," the organization said.

The lawsuit cites recent announcements from the Trump administration in asserting the medication is potentially dangerous.

Recently, the former president generated worry from health experts when he instructed women during pregnancy to "fight like hell" not to consume Tylenol when sick.

The US Food and Drug Administration then released a statement that doctors should contemplate reducing the usage of Tylenol, while also declaring that "a causal relationship" between the medication and autism spectrum disorder in minors has remains unverified.

Health Secretary Kennedy, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration, had promised in spring to initiate "comprehensive study program" that would determine the source of autism in a limited time.

But experts advised that discovering a single cause of autism - considered by experts to be the outcome of a intricate combination of genetic and external influences - would be difficult.

Autism spectrum disorder is a type of enduring cognitive variation and condition that affects how persons experience and interact with the environment, and is diagnosed using doctors' observations.

In his legal document, Paxton - a Trump ally who is seeking the Senate - alleges Kenvue and J&J "willfully ignored and attempted to silence the research" around paracetamol and autism.

The case seeks to make the companies "eliminate any commercial messaging" that states acetaminophen is reliable for women during pregnancy.

The Texas lawsuit echoes the concerns of a group of mothers and fathers of minors with autism and ADHD who sued the producers of acetaminophen in two years ago.

A federal judge rejected the case, saying investigations from the family's specialists was lacking definitive proof.