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How much gum is consumed in a day (and other gum statistics for you to chew on)

While watching today’s mallrats, one can’t help but notice how many kids today are constantly chewing gum.  Seriously, pay attention the next time you’re walking through the mall or hanging out at the local Starbucks. If you can get past the high shrill voices of “OMG!” and “Like, you know” pouring out of their mouths, pay attention to the constant cud chewing going on and you’ll soon see what we mean.

POP! The Invention of Bubble Gum
POP! The Invention of Bubble Gum

But it does bring up an interesting question:

HOW MUCH GUM ARE PEOPLE CHEWING IN A DAY?

And luckily, we have the NATIONAL CONFECTIONERS ASSOCIATION to thank, because they’re the ones who actually pay attention to this type of statistic.  And based on the DEC 2010 report on the topic, we now have a fairly good idea of exactlyHOW MUCH CANDY AMERICANS ARE EATING.

  • 16% of the US population chews gum at least once a day
  • The average adult chews gum 150 different times a year, or about three times per week
  • Young adults, those aged 18-34, are more concerned with bad breath than older folks.  They chew gum more than 200 times a year, about four times per week.
  • Young adults make up the largest gum-chewing group, at 30% of all gum consumption.  59% of all gum is consumed by adults age 18-54.
  • Despite warnings about potential choking hazards, 3% of children between 2-years-old and 5-years-old are chewing gum.
  • Women tend to chew gum more than men do
  • Sugarless gum outsells regular gum.  You know, just like Diet Coke outsells Regular Coca-Cola
  • Most people chew gum while away from home.  Unless it’s regular gum, while will still be chewed more away from home than at home, is a more popular at-home gum than is sugarless gum
  • 27% of gum chewers do so to freshen their breath.  5.1% choose to do so to clean or whiten their teeth.

So let’s get to the bottom of what you really want to know:  WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR REGULAR GUM FLAVORS?   (note that these are “flavors”, not necessarily “brands”)

  1. Bubble Gum
  2. Juicy Fruit
  3. Spearmint
  4. Hot Cinnamon
  5. Wintergreen / Winterfresh
  6. Cinnamint
  7. Freshmint
  8. Mint
  9. Original / Regular / Plain
  10. Peppermint

What about you – can you name the brand or flavor of the last pack of gum that you purchased was?  Why did you choose it, and why do you chew gum at all?  Do the metrics that the Gum People came up with match your own experience?

And really, should any parent be giving chewing gum to a 2-year-old?