Health Minister Mark Butler has asked Australian authorities for quick advice on the link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism, after the Trump administration moved to start changing safety labels for the commonly used pain relief drug.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Monday, US time) that the Food and Drug Administration would notify doctors that paracetamol “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism a day after he declared “I think we found an answer to autism.”

Trump said his administration was urging pregnant women to largely avoid paracetamol – one of the most commonly used medicines in the world, sold under brand names including Tylenol in the US and Panadol in Australia.

“So taking Tylenol is not good — I’ll say it — it’s not good. For this reason,

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