Pros and Cons

Gum is a lifestyle product that has always had issues of image. For over 25 years, Emily Post refused to mention chewing gum in her etiquette books. On the other hand, there are block-long brick walls in Seattle, Washington, and San Luis Obispo, California, where gum lovers happily stick their chewed cud for posterity. For over a hundred years, “gum chewing has been viewed as a terrible habit that Americans were imposing around the world” (Mathews, 2009). Gum makers address such problems with politeness campaigns like the one that urged consumers to be respectful and “Save This Wrapper to Dispose of Your Gum.” The Hong Kong subway system features gum “targets,” so commuters can spit their expended wads into the garbage instead of marring the floor. The New York Times summarized gum’s image by calling it a “badge of insouciance” and adding “just ask Jack Nicholson.” Regardless of individual opinion, chewing gum has long carried important commercial, environmental, and social implications the world over.