Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer received backlash after proposing federal regulation of Zyn nicotine pouches.
On Sunday, Schumer urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate Zyn for "concerns relating to marketing and health effects" of the nicotine product.
"It's a pouch packed with problems – high levels of nicotine," Schumer said at a press conference. "So today, I'm delivering a warning to parents because these nicotine pouches seem to lock their sights on young kids, teenagers and even lower. And then use the social media to hook them."
Schumer's proposed federal regulation of the nicotine product was met with backlash by fans of Zyn.
"Mr. Schumer, this will be your one and only warning on behalf of all the fellas: Do not cross that Rubicon," wrote Greg Price of State Freedom Caucus Network. "You will have reaped the whirlwind and you will pay the price."
In a follow-up post, Price shared a meme featuring a Zyn container with a historical slogan reading, "Come and take it."
"I dare you, Chuckie Boy," he warned.
"This will go nowhere in the House of RepreZyntatives," wrote Georgia Rep. Russell Fry.
Fry similarly shared a meme featuring the slogan.
Fry was joined by fellow Reps. Lisa McClain of Michigan and Mike Waltz of Florida.
"Hey Chuck, the border is out of control, and Senate Dems are refusing to take up H.R. 2.," McClain wrote. "Maybe we can start there instead of trying to ban Zyn and mess with consumers' rights."
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Schumer's investigation into the nicotine product a "Zynsurrection!"
"The same Democrats that want to legalize all drugs and have ripped open our border flooding our country with fentanyl, a real weapon of mass destruction killing 300 Americans per day, wants to ban Zyn," Green wrote. "Democrats are idiots."
"Joe Biden wants to ban menthol cigarettes. Chuck Schumer wants to ban Zyn," wrote the Senate Republicans X account. "The nanny state is alive and well with today's Democrat Party."
"We live in a world where Joe Biden and the Democrats are allowing fentanyl to flood across the border from Mexico and China to poison our communities," wrote GOP communications strategist Steve Guest. "What is Chuck Schumer's response? 'Let's go after Zyn.'"
Zyn's parent company, Philip Morris International, released a statement noting their company's products "fully meet and exceed the regulations governing the industry."
“Our marketing practices—which prohibit the use of social media influencers—are focused on preventing underage access and set the benchmark for the industry,” according to the statement. “Real-world evidence shows this approach is working: the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA show oral nicotine pouch use by those under the legal age remains exceptionally low.”
