Chewing Gum

Gum/Chewing gum/Bubble gum - A sticky treat designed to be chewed only, and not swallowed. Made of a base of latex (natural or man-made), paraffin or beeswax, and commonly also including polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, and stearic acid, the gum base is then sweetened, flavored, and often colored as well.

Chewing gum was traditionally made from chicle - a type of latex or gum from the Manilkara chicle or sapodilla tree found in North and South America, as well as other natural latex or vegetable gums, such as spruce gum and mastic gum.

Although chicle and other natural latex gums are still used by some chewing gum manufacturers, many brands of gum today are now made from man-made petroleum-based polymers because it is less expensive and readily available.

There are sugar-free 'breath freshening' gums available, gums which help with dental hygiene, sweet and super-chewy bubblegums designed for blowing bubbles, gum fortified with vitamins, 'tooth-whitening' gum, and even 'nicotine' gum to help reduce cigarette cravings.

Gum comes in many flavors and colors, as well as shapes and sizes. It may be a thin, pressed rectangle, tablet or 'stick', a square 'box' shape, in shredded spaghetti-like 'strings', it may come with a juicy liquid interior, as a round ball, or a small square or pellet with a thin crunchy coating, and it can also be found nestled inside hard candy 'jaw-breakers' and lollipops.

Kinds and Brands of Gum - A Sampling

REGULAR CHEWING GUM
Wrigley's:
Big Red
Doublemint
Juicy Fruit
Spearmint

BUBBLE GUM
Bazooka
Big League Chew
Bubblicious
Bubble Tape
Bubble Yum
Gum balls
Hubba Bubba

SUGAR FREE GUM
Altoids
Dentyne, Dentyne Ice
Carefree
Eclipse
Extra
Trident
Orbit

DENTAL CARE/TOOTH WHITENING
Arm & Hammer - Advance White and Dental Care Baking Soda Gum
Dr. Ken's - Total Care Dental Gum
Freedent - doesn't stick to dental work
Orbit White - tooth whitening
Peelu - dental gum
Trident White - tooth whitening

'HEALTH' GUM
Aspergum - Aspirin Pain Reliever
Biotene - Dry Mouth Gum
Mega-T - Green Tea Chewing Gum
Quench Gum - thirst-quenching sports gum
TheraBreath - oxygenating breath freshening gum
Vitaball Minis - Vitamin Gumballs

NICOTINE GUM
Nicorette
Rite Aid Nicotine Polacrilex Gum

NOVELTY GUM
Big Choice Bubble Gum Cigars
Big League Chew
Bubble Gum baseballs
Bubble Gum Candy Coins
Bubble Gum Cigarettes
Bubble Juice - bubble gum nuggets
Cry Baby - sour gum (made by Dubble Bubble)
Gold Mine - gold nugget shaped bubble gum
Gum Balls for gum ball machines
Razzles - candy/gum
Tongue Splashers - bubble gum