Bad Drugs
President Trump told everyone Monday that maternal use of acetaminophen is a cause of childhood autism. While he struggled with saying the word “acetaminophen” (full disclosure: spell-check fixed my first attempt), he finally dropped back to the brand name – Tylenol. As a result, Kenvue, the manufacturer of that brand, lost 9% of its stock value.
Now that’s Kenvue’s problem. If they are marketing a “bad” drug; dropping stock values are the least of their concerns. The problem is, that “science” doesn’t back the Presidential statement. And that’s where we begin today.
Tylenol
Tylenol was first marketed by Johnson and Johnson back in 1960 as an over-the-counter pain remedy, and an alternative to aspirin. It’s been evaluated in scientific studies hundreds of times, and found to be both safe and effective. That’s particularly important during pregnancy, because there are known health risks with the use of aspirin. Tylenol is considered a safe alternative for pain relief.
And, if you listen to the doctors, to the experts, to the folks who can analyze the studies and interpret the results, Tylenol still is safe for pregnancy. So what is President Trump talking about?
There is a long standing “counter-culture” to medical science, recently led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He made his legal career as an environmentalist, and in the early 2000’s turned to questioning “big pharma” about what was included in pharmaceuticals. He’s attacked vaccines, medications, and claimed Americans were ingesting deadly doses of thimerosal and mercury.
Snake Oil
Like every “snake oil salesman”, there’s a kernel of truth in some of what he says. We only have to look to Oxycontin to know that drug company profits can overwhelm public safety. But, for every Oxycontin, there are hundreds of drugs that made our lives safer, and better. (That includes the Covid vaccine – all the “snake oil” about that to the contrary. It saved, and still saves, millions of lives worldwide. It allowed us to get back to life, and, ironically, was Trump’s greatest Presidential achievement.)
So, do you believe the “snake oil salesman”, Kennedy speaking through Trump, or do you believe the science? The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Kennedy) did something that’s a “verboten” in the scientific world. He ignored the vast weight of scientific study, and of scientific expertise. Instead, he “cherry picked” a single study that claimed to show a linkage between Tylenol and Autism. It’s not that other analysts, the real experts, don’t know about this study. But they think it’s flawed; small, and misinterpreted. Kennedy (and his chosen “scientists”) decided that this one, “unicorn”, was right, and all of the others are wrong.
Experts Matter
Of course, there are lots of opinions. But there’s a catch to that: not everyone is entitled to an opinion on the matter. Sure, with a click of the keys and a whiff of AI, we can all claim to be experts. But here’s reality: I can look at a pole vault attempt, and diagnose what’s right and wrong – can you? Probably not, that’s not your expertise, it’s mine, hard-earned through forty plus years of coaching. And I’m pretty good with most other track and field events as well, except for hammer throw (the ball with the cable, kind of medieval).
When I want a hammer “diagnosis”, I turn to my hammer coach friends. It a distinct specialty in the track and field world. By the way, they turn to me with pole vault issues too.
Interpretation
So when I want to interpret the scientific data regarding Tylenol, I don’t declare an expertise just because I take four a day. I don’t even try to read all of the “data” about Tylenol, because I don’t have the expertise to understand it. Instead, I take two steps. I listen to my carefully chosen doctor, the one I trust. And he listens to the real experts on pharmacology, ones HE trusts.
So when the President gives medical advice (“tough it out, pregnant ladies”), I call “BS”. And while Robert Kennedy probably could give practical advice about heroin addiction, something he’s experienced, his NYU Law degree doesn’t give him any expertise in interpreting scientific data.
Monopoly
Here’s the rub: both the President and the Secretary have good reason to want a monopoly on the truth. It’s not really about Tylenol and autism. It’s about the “REAL” issues where the administration comes head to head with money and power, like climate change. Today, the President told the United Nations that manmade climate change was a hoax, a false premise that was damaging their economies and ruining their citizens lives. “Let’s get back to ‘clean coal’” he said to the world’s nations. And, of course, if coal is good, petroleum is even better.
Where’s the money? Trump literally asked the big petroleum companies leaders for a billion dollars and he’d make sure to protect gas, and they paid up (The Hill). And we know that the Middle Eastern oil producers have long funded the Trump family.
And if climate change is a hoax, then the Democrats are liars, and so is China. China is the world leader in solar power, far out-distancing the strangled efforts of President Biden. Turn to the US, get oil, and West Virginia coal. Turn to China, and get renewable solar energy. The rest of the world probably already knows what to do, take the renewable fuel of the future not supply-limited fuel of the past.
Believe the Lie
Trump needs them to believe the lie. And he needs Americans to believe that “only he” knows the real truth, about everything. That’s important to him on so many issues: elections, urban crime, undocumented migrant costs, climate change, and, of course, the EPSTEIN FILES (they haven’t gone away). If Trump can control the truth, then he can control the Nation.
If it sounds like George Orwell’s 1984, it is. The enemy today is the friend tomorrow, ask Robert Kennedy, the son of a liberal Democrat. But, here’s the rub: there really is a scientifically based truth. You just need to ask a real expert. Don’t take my word for it; or Bobby’s, or Donald Trump’s.
