Chewing gum

Chewing gums often comes in sticks wrapped in foil.

Chewing gum is a type of candy flavored with natural sugar or artificial sweeteners and also flavors such as mint. Gum is made to be chewed, and not swallowed. People chew gum for personal enjoyment and also to help clean teeth. Before it is chewed, the gum comes either soft and chewy or hard and then softens in your mouth. People are usually finished with gum once all the flavor is extracted, or their mouth becomes sore. Once people are done with gum, they throw it away.

History

Chewing gum was invented at least 5000 years ago and in many places, made from many different plants.

Variations of early chewing gum worldwide

Ancient civilization	Chewing gum precursor
Ancient Greece	Mastic tree bark
Ancient Maya	Chicle
Chinese	Ginseng plant roots
Inuit	Blubber
Native Americans	Sugar pine and spruce sap
South Americans	Coca leaves
South Asia (India)	Betel nuts
Tropical West Africa	Kola nuts
United States (early settlers)	Tobacco leaves

The first commercial chewing gum, called The State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum, was made in 1848. In 1850 the first gum made from paraffin wax was produced. It was often eaten with powdered sugar. The first flavored chewing gum was created in the 1860s by John Colgan, in Louisville, Kentucky. About the same time modern chewing gum was first developed when chicle was brought from Mexico by the former president, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. It was marketed as Adams New York Chewing Gum in 1871. Black Jack, which is flavored with licorice started in 1884, Chiclets (1899), and Wrigley's Spearmint Gum were early popular gums that quickly dominated the market and are all still around today.

American soldiers in WWII were supplied with chewing gum as a ration. They traded it with locals which widened the market. Chewing gum is less popular now.

Types

Stick Gum

• In a stick form
• In different flavors but mostly in refreshing, tropical ones

Bubble gum

• Is the best gum to make bubbles with
• In many fruit flavors
• Mostly common in cubes

Jawbreaker Gum

• In small hard shape (mostly sphere) with a soft center

Functional Gum

• They have medical function
• It has vitamins or different minerals in it

Nicotine Gum

• It tries to help people stop smoking
• It gives old smokers something to do instead of smoking
• It contains a small amount of nicotine
• Is not an alternative to smoking

Effects

Health

The effects of chewing gum on health vary. Sugar free chewing gum is sometimes recommended by dentists, because it can clean the teeth. Chewing gum which contains sugar can, depending on the kind of sugar, harm the teeth. Gum can help to avoid snacks.

Environment

The new version of chewing gum has environmental effects, because it cannot rot easily. Also, it is hard to clean up if it sticks somewhere.

Other

Chewing gum can have a good effect on concentration. There are many other effects on people coming from different new invented chewing gums, like dry mouth gum, or energy gum.