Experts: Nicotine gum poses deadly danger to children

First came flavored cigarettes flavored with chocolate or grapes. Then came e-cigarettes flavored with cotton candy or gummy bears. Now nicotine-flavored chewing gum has appeared, and the FDA is not happy about it, according to CNN. 

Earlier, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to VPR Brands, the company that makes the nicotine-flavored gummies, notifying them that the products are being sold illegally. 

Each chewing gum contained 1 milligram of nicotine, and there were 12 pieces per package. The department claims that 1 to 4 milligrams of nicotine can be very toxic to children under the age of 6, as well as older children, depending on their weight.

The company's website now says the chewing gums have been discontinued.

However, other companies' nicotine products that look like candy and chewing gum are still available. 

There is no clear data on how widespread chewing gum or any other nicotine-containing candy-like products have become. But if a recent study of nicotine use in Southern California suggests that they are popular.

In that study, ninth- and tenth-graders who reported nicotine use were more likely to use flavored, non-tobacco oral nicotine products - gum, tablets, lozenges and chewing gum - than many more traditional products, such as cigarettes. About 10 percent of children surveyed used e-cigarettes, and more than 3 percent chose oral nicotine products.

In 2021, about 2.55 million students in the U.S. reported using tobacco products in some form.

Companies that make products with synthetic nicotine claim they do not need to follow the rules that apply to other nicotine products because their products do not contain tobacco. 

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