# Swallowing chewing gum **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114 "2003-04-11T20:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/1 "2003-04-11T20:49:35Z")
I’m an avid gum chewer, as previously my wisdom teeth would often become infected and my preference towards garlic and onions in my food and coffee lent themselves towards bad breath. I’ve since had my wisdom teeth removed and have just recently been able to resume my habit of chewing gum, but I’ve noticed that lately as I chew I have an irresistable urge to swallow my gum. Just a few minutes ago I was happily chewing and surfing the SDMB and realized I was about to swallow my gum. Telling myself that I shouldn’t, I made to remove the gum from my mouth and/or resist the urge, but did it anyway. Any theories on why this might be? Besides the undigestibility, is there any harm in swallowing chewing gum? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dark\_Canuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Dark\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dark_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/2 "2003-04-11T20:57:36Z")
I had a elementary school teacher who told us that if we swallowed gum our ribs would stick together. I was a chronic gum swallower for years and can happily say that my ribs are just fine. So there’s one harmful thing you can cross off your list. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/3 "2003-04-11T21:00:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Dark Canuck \* > **I had a elementary school teacher. . .** Apparently not a very good one! 😛 Sorry, couldn’t resist 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Dark\_Canuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Dark\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Dark_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/4 "2003-04-11T21:04:28Z")
D’oh! **AN** elementary school teacher. :smack: For what’s it’s worth he taught science, not english. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thinks2Much](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Thinks2Much](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinks2Much)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/5 "2003-04-11T21:09:09Z")
Not sure why you have the urge to swallow your gum, other than everything you put in your mouth you swallowed for a long time so maybe you got out of the habit? Anyway - Several sources on the internet basically say the same thing - swallowing some gum occassionally probably won’t do any damage. This article was the only one that actually referenced a study. According to it, you might have a problem if you swallow more than 4 sticks a day.[link](http://wfla.tbo.com/health/106.htm) Although I don’t like the sensationalist tone of this article, it appears to be based on fact. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/6 "2003-04-11T23:48:00Z")
Interesting. I guess then my fears of harmful side effects are residual of my elementary school teachers and parents offering vague warnings way back when. Still something I’d like to stop, but this urge to do so is oddly fascinatingly. It’s harder to stop than quitting smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Lew\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Lew\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lew_Archer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/swallowing-chewing-gum/168114/7 "2003-04-12T02:39:40Z")
The Master had a column on this…see [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_059.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_059.html) for details. chrisk72, from that article, it also appears to be a problem if you are under the age of six. 🙂