How Tylenol's troubled history helped make it a Trump target

From an elixir for 'little hotheads' to deadly overdoses, how Tylenol became a medicinal scapegoat.

September 27, 2025 Check out STAT+

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Charlie Knoblock/AP STAT+ | From an elixir for 'little hotheads' to deadly overdoses, how Tylenol became a medicinal scapegoat Tylenol's history spans kids' medicine, deadly overdoses, and corporate crises. Now Trump's autism claims put acetaminophen in a crossfire By Megan Molteni Natsumi Chikayasu for STAT STAT+ | Hospitals get dinged for reporting too many infections. In some cases, the solution is not to test To avoid fines for reporting excessive hospital-acquired infections, some facilities are dodging reports by discouraging testing. A STAT investigation by Tara Bannow. By Tara Bannow Adobe Autistic moms feel shamed and stigmatized by Trump's Tylenol warning Autistic community says Trump's Tylenol claims are spreading shame and stigma, evoking painful memories of the 'refrigerator mom' myth By O. Rose Broderick STAT+ | Apple Watch's hypertension alert misses half of cases. Experts still think it will boost treatment Experts say sensitivity rate may be low, just 41%, but that any feature that nudges people toward blood pressure care is a good thing. By Mario Aguilar What the evidence tells us about Tylenol, leucovorin, and autism Trump highlights old but unsettled claims: Tylenol-pregnancy autism risk, leucovorin's promise of improved autistic speech. Here's what the science says. By Matthew Herper Author of reviews of gender affirming care decries 'egregious misuse' of the findings to justify bans Gordon Guyatt, researcher who coined the term 'evidence-based medicine,' says his work is being misused to back bans on gender-affirming care By Theresa Gaffney STAT+ | In dispensing advice on Tylenol and autism, Trump takes on a new role: doctor in chief Trump's Tylenol warning, more forceful than his Covid health claims, show a pattern of presidential medical advice at odds with science By Jonathan Wosen and Angus Chen STAT+ | Inside NYU's AI-powered plan to catch osteoporosis with repurposed CT scans NYU plans to start checking newly acquired CT scans for osteoporosis, a condition that often goes undiagnosed By Katie Palmer

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