Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., accused the Biden administration of unfairly targeting "black smokers" while attempting "to legalize weed for white college kids."
In a Wednesday post on X, Cotton highlighted news that a coalition of health organizations and politicians is trying to get the Food and Drug Administration to finalize a ban on menthol cigarettes.
"Joe Biden wants to ban menthol cigarettes, which are favored by black smokers. Meanwhile, he wants to legalize weed for white college kids and mail out free crack pipes," Cotton wrote.
"The administration's ban is paternalistic, it's hypocritical, and it creates a huge black market for Mexican cartels and Hezbollah. And all because Mike Bloomberg told him to."
Bloomberg had published an opinion editorial in 2021 advocating for Biden's FDA to consider a ban on the cigarettes, citing data that showed its connection to 378,000 extra premature deaths from 1980 to 2018.
The FDA proposed the ban one year later but did not finalize it. Now, a coalition is pushing for the ban to go through but is facing pushback from tobacco companies and some criminal justice reform advocates.
Among those pushing back is Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Network group sent a letter to the administration last year warning that such a ban could adversely affect Black communities.
"Advocates for the proposed rule have not been able to explain why the preferred product for Black adult smokers will be subject to ban while the select products of most will remain legal and available," the letter read.
Cotton's criticism also cites a 2022 report from The Washington Free Beacon alleging that federal funds went toward a program to provide drug users with free crack pipes in "safe-smoking kits."
The Biden administration has denied the report's findings.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.