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While often marketed as a harmless, chewy sweet, most mass-produced gums, including prominent names like Wrigley, are made using synthetic rubbers and petroleum-based polymers, some of which are also found in products like car tyres
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That stick of chewing gum you reach for after lunch might come with more than just minty freshness. According to a new pilot study, it may also be dosing your mouth with a surprising number of microplastics.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have found that chewing just one piece of gum can release thousands of microscopic plastic particles into saliva — a finding that adds to the growing concern over how deeply plastic pollution has embedded itself into daily life. The study, still awaiting peer review, is being presented this week at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
But the authors are quick to point out that their aim is not to spark alarm.
“Our goal is not to alarm anybody,” said Sanjay Mohanty, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA and lead author of the research. “Scientists don’t know if microplastics are unsafe to us or not. There are no human trials. But we know we are exposed to plastics in everyday life, and that’s what we wanted to examine here.”
The concern is rooted in what modern gum is made from. While often marketed as a harmless, chewy sweet, most mass-produced gums, including prominent names like Wrigley, are made using synthetic rubbers and petroleum-based polymers, some of which are also found in products like car tyres.
That has raised eyebrows, especially given how little attention has been paid to gum’s potential role in microplastic exposure.
In an attempt to fill that gap, Mohanty and co-author Lisa Lowe tested saliva samples from one subject who chewed ten different brands of gum — five synthetic, five natural — for four minutes each. The findings may leave your mouth wide open.
“Surprisingly, both synthetic and natural gums had similar amounts of microplastics released when we chewed them,” said Lowe.
On average, chewing gum released up to 600 microplastic shards per gram. Given that a stick of gum typically weighs between one and six grams, the potential exposure can add up quickly. Someone chewing 180 pieces of gum a year, for instance, could be ingesting as many as 30,000 microplastic particles annually.
So — should you worry?
While the amount of microplastics in chewing gum sounds alarming, in context, it’s relatively modest. A litre of bottled water, by comparison, contains an estimated 240,000 microplastic particles.
Experts say the jury is still out on whether you should worry. “I don’t think you have to stop chewing gum just yet,” said Oliver Jones, a chemistry professor at RMIT University in Australia who was not involved in the study. Most particles, if swallowed, “would likely pass straight through you with no impact,” he told AFP.
Still, concern is mounting about the health risks posed by microplastics, particularly when particles are small enough to enter the bloodstream. Recent studies have linked microplastic exposure with elevated risks of heart attack, stroke, and even blood clots in the brain.
For those looking to err on the side of caution, the researchers offered a simple workaround: chew your gum longer. Most microplastic release, they found, occurs in the first two minutes. So sticking with the same piece for longer might reduce your exposure — and it’s certainly better than spitting it out onto the pavement.
With inputs from agencies