The Gum Lobby

Calvin, who subscribed to ‘Chewing’ Magazine and took his gum seriously, would approve: The leading producers of chewing gum from around the world have launched the International Chewing Gum Association (ICGA).

Sadly, it’s not what I thought it was: a gathering of folk who will share their experiences of gum chewing and bubble blowing, a forum to discuss preferred locations for used gum wads and the problems of simultaneous perambulation and mastication, and a lobby group for greater gum-chewing rights in places where users are discriminated against (Singapore springs to mind). Instead it’s an organisation of manufacturers and its objective is to “speak with one global voice and to seek harmonization of regulations between countries and continents.” Which sounds really dull.

For those of you still fascinated, the ICGA is actually a merging of the

• EACGI (European Association of the Chewing Gum Industry) and the
• NACGM (National Association of Chewing Gum Manufacturers)

Sadly I can’t find the strip online where Calvin goes into detail about his “dedication to developing a proper chewer’s jaw that ‘drives the girls wild’ through his Chewing magazine subscription”.

That’s what the ICGA should be talking about. Or how to remove chewing gum from carpets, clothes and furniture (somehow the name of that site made me think it was about removing gum from people’s mouths).