Chewing gum could eventually disappear from New Jersey store shelves under a bill moving through the state legislature that targets microplastics shed into saliva within minutes of a piece hitting your mouth. The proposal would first require warning labels on gum and tea bags, then phase in an outright sales ban if manufacturers keep using the materials.
Assembly Bill A5452, dubbed the Protecting Against Microplastics Act, was introduced by Democratic Assemblywomen Shama A. Haider and Margi Donlon last month, according to nj.com. A client alert from Lowenstein Sandler LLP says Assemblywoman Shama Haider proposed the legislation on September 14 and tracks the measure as part of a broader regulatory shift around microplastics. As Gothamist reported, the push stems from findings that microplastics seep into the body after just a couple of minutes of chewing.
What the Bill Would Actually Require
Under the proposal, products containing intentionally added microplastics, as well as products capable of generating secondary microplastics through degradation, shedding or fragmentation, would face phased labeling requirements: exterior disclosure in the first year and bilingual labeling stating “This product contains microplastics” in the second. In the third year, those products would be banned from sale, though foodware would be exempt from the ban. The same report says the bill would earmark $3 million for enforcement, which a client alert from Lowenstein Sandler LLP says would be handled by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
The legislation follows research on microplastics in gum, including a UCLA pilot study that found chewing gum sheds plastic particles into saliva, with particles released rapidly. According to a press release from acs.org, researchers tested five synthetic-gum brands and five natural-gum brands and found both released similar amounts of microplastics — an average of 100 particles per gram, with some pieces shedding as many as 600 per gram. Since a typical piece of gum weighs between 2 and 6 grams, the same release notes that a large piece could theoretically shed up to 3,000 plastic particles.
Most Particles Released Within Minutes
Research found that most of the microplastics detached from gum within the first two minutes of chewing, with 94% released after eight minutes, according to the acs.org summary. Researchers estimated that someone chewing 160 to 180 small sticks of gum annually could end up ingesting around 30,000 microplastics over the course of a year.
A separate peer-reviewed study on the same topic, published on sciencedirect.com, examined 10 chewing-gum brands and identified four types of plastic polymers released by both natural and synthetic gum — polyolefins, polyterephthalates, polyacrylamides, and polystyrenes. That research found that each gram of gum could release up to 636 microplastics into saliva, according to sciencedirect.com. The nj.com report separately notes that a 2024 study of 10 gum brands found both natural and synthetic gums emitted microplastics within the first few minutes of chewing, with about 94% released by the eight-minute mark — closely mirroring the UCLA pilot findings.
Exposure Documented, but Harm Still Unproven
Despite the consistent findings across studies, none of the research establishes that swallowing these particles is dangerous. The UCLA-linked pilot study was upfront about that gap: “Scientists don't know if microplastics are unsafe to us or not. There are no human trials,” according to the acs.org release. That study was also limited to detecting microplastics 20 micrometers wide or larger, meaning smaller particles may have gone undetected entirely.
The New Jersey Dental Association has raised a similar caution about the legislative push, telling nj.com that “What those studies document is exposure, not harm.” The group's director of advocacy and health affairs continues to recommend sugar-free gum as a low-cost, evidence-based preventive tool for oral health, the same report notes.
New Jersey wouldn't be the first place to take drastic action against chewing gum, though for very different reasons. Singapore's ban on the sale, import and manufacture of chewing gum took effect on January 3, 1992, imposed primarily because gum litter had disrupted the smooth running of its mass rapid transit trains, according to nlb.gov.sg. New Jersey's bill, by contrast, is grounded in laboratory findings about what gum releases into the mouth rather than concerns about street litter.
For now, A5452 remains a proposal sitting with an Assembly committee, and it's unclear when or whether lawmakers will advance it further. Anyone chewing a stick of gum in New Jersey today can still do so freely — but the bill signals that state regulators are increasingly willing to treat everyday consumer products as a microplastics exposure pathway worth legislating against.
