The Minister of Health says paracetamol is safe and does not cause autism, and people should follow the advice of New Zealand’s health department rather than the United States President.

US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy jnr, this week claimed a link between paracetamol and autism.

Trump and Kennedy said pregnant women should not take Tylenol because of a supposed risk from one of its ingredients, acetaminophen, which is called paracetamol outside of the US.

“Taking Tylenol is not good,” the President said. “They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That’s, for instance, in cases of extremely high fever that you feel you can’t tough it out.”

Simeon Brown said today: “My advice is: follow Health New Zealand’s advice”.

“I think their website says paracetamol is a safe medicine to use. If anyone has any questions, they should always talk to a health professional.”

Health NZ’s advice on its website says, “it is important to take [paracetamol] at the recommended dose so the medicine works well and does not cause unwanted effects”.

“Taking more than the recommended dose can be dangerous and can cause permanent damage to your liver.”

Simeon Brown urges Kiwis to follow Health New Zealand's advice on paracetamol. Photo / Cameron Pitney

The Ministry of Health’s advice on the use of paracetamol in pregnancy says the drug is the safest medicine to take for pain relief or treatment of fever.

• Autism NZ describes Trump’s claims about paracetamol ‘quite scary’
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Medsafe continues to monitor the safety of all medicines, including monitoring emerging information about the safety and effectiveness of the products overseas.

Medsafe encourages anyone with concerns about any medicine to speak with trusted healthcare providers.

While medical experts in New Zealand have dismissed Trump’s claims as “a load of nonsense” and “quite scary”, Brown would not be drawn into criticising the comments.

“I’m the Minister of Health in New Zealand. We have health experts here.

“I’m very much focused on New Zealand. In terms of questions of foreign affairs, I suggest you put those to the [Minister of Foreign Affairs,] the Rt Hon Winston Peters,” he said.

Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist and co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Network, told Newstalk ZB the Trump administration’s declaration was a “load of nonsense”.

Dr Deralie Flower, an obstetrician and president of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists’ Auckland branch, said it was disturbing “when people who are not experts in that field put out statements like that”.

United States President Donald Trump says taking Tylenol "is not good". Photo / Getty Images

“People should talk to their midwife or their obstetrician before taking any health advice from President Trump.”

The New Zealand College of Midwives said the US administration’s rhetoric had caused “unnecessary concern” among expectant mothers and wanted to reassure pregnant woman paracetamol was safe.

“It remains the safest recommended option for pain relief and fever management during pregnancy when used as directed,” the college said.

“Paracetamol has been safely used for decades by pregnant women in Aotearoa and around the world.

“While members of the Trump administration have raised questions about the safety of paracetamol in pregnancy, high-quality scientific evidence does not demonstrate a causal link or association between paracetamol use and autism or other developmental concerns.”

Autism NZ’s chief executive Dane Dougan said the Trump administration’s efforts to find a definitive cause for autism has proven “quite scary”, given the lack of support from current scientific research.

“To try to stop people being born as autistic, I think, is a very negative way of looking at it and quite harmful,” he told the Herald.

He refuted the administration’s claim that autism had been linked to paracetamol use during pregnancy.

“There is no scientific evidence to show this is the case. While there has been ... a small number of studies about the association between autism and paracetamol, there has not been even a casual link shown to that yet.”

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.