IS CHEWING ON PLASTIC BAD FOR YOU UPDATE

So I emailed the company a few days after this post was published and received the following response, РІР‚СљWe currently use a gum base that is derived from the sap of jelutong trees in Southeast Asia. Spry Gum: Many readers have mentioned Spry gum to me because the gum base is reported to be all natural. You can read my original review of Green Tree chewing gum here. Since then, the company has gone out of business and the website has been taken down. Green Tree Gum Co: In 2015, I reviewed plastic-free, sugar-free Green Tree gum. The only downside is that all of the Simply Gum flavors are sweetened with sugar, which many gum chewers are trying to avoid. It is still on the market with plastic-free gum base and packaging. Simply Gum: In 2014, I learned of Simply Gum. Read more about Peppersmith chewing gum here. Sadly, in 2014, the company reformulated the chewing gum to include plastic in its gum base, so I can no longer recommend it. Peppersmith: In 2012, I discovered this English brand of chewing gum (with both plastic-free packaging and plastic-free ingredients) and touted it heavily.

IS CHEWING ON PLASTIC BAD FOR YOU UPDATE

I will continue to update this page as new information becomes available. But whether or not they catch on is another story. Since then, a few have come on the market. UPDATE: At the time this article was originally written in January of 2010, there were no completely plastic-free chewing gum choices.

So, does chewing gum without plastic exist? The trouble is that we as consumers have no way of knowing which of these ingredients, if any, are included in a particular gum base because manufacturers are not required to go into any more detail!Р”Р„nd a few more points to ponder before I move onРІР‚В¦Р”РЋ) Where does (plastic) chewing gum go after itРІР‚в„ўs ABC (already been chewed)? Is it flushed down toilets? Washed down storm drains? HmmРІР‚В¦ just one more source of non-biodegradable plastic in our oceans?Р”Сћ) What happens when we swallow it? Does it eventually make its way out? Or do all of us have plastic in our stomachs? Just wonderingРІР‚В¦ Natural chewing gum In fact, check out the US FDAРІР‚в„ўs complete list of possible ingredients that can be included in gum base: However, according to the article, government regulators were forced to back down due to industry pressure.Р”В«ut is all chewing gum made from polyvinyl acetate? If the label lists РІР‚Сљgum baseРІР‚Сњ as an ingredient, it may contain РІР‚Сљpetroleum, lanolin, glycerin, polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, petroleum wax, stearic acid, or latex,РІР‚Сњ according to the Vegetarian Resource Group. In fact, in 2008 the Canadian government was so concerned about vinyl acetate used in the production of chewing gum that they added it to a list of substances to be considered toxic. Polyvinyl acetate? WhatРІР‚в„ўs that? According to the article РІР‚Сљ Behind the Label: Chewing GumРІР‚Сњ published this week in The Ecologist, polyvinyl acetate (a type of plastic) is manufactured using vinyl acetate, a chemical shown to cause tumors in lab rats. ButРІР‚В¦Р”Р„fter World War II, chemists learned to make synthetic rubber, which came to replace most natural rubber in chewing gum (e.g., polyethylene and polyvinyl acetate). Gum is made from plastic.Р”Р„ccording to, chewing gum was originally made from tree sap called chicle, a natural rubber, and sometimes various waxes. And I always felt guilty if it came in one of these:Р”В«ut after reading some information that reader Eleanor Sommer forwarded me yesterday, I wonРІР‚в„ўt be putting any of that stuff in my mouth anymore. Yeah, I knew it contained artificial flavors and wasnРІР‚в„ўt good for me. Still, if someone offered me a piece of gum, I might have accepted the random chew here and there. So it was no hardship to let go of chewing gum when I gave up products in plastic packaging. I can keep a stick of gum in my mouth for about five minutes, just enough time to suck all the flavor out, before IРІР‚в„ўm tired of chewing and starting to get that chewing gum headache.

Is chewing on plastic bad for you