Turning to a snack with more pop, fewer calories

Holly Leicht loves to eat. But her job does not always allow her time for lunch. On those days, Leicht, an assistant commissioner for the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, chews bubble gum.

It is more substantial than her day-to-day go-to chew. For that, she relies on spicy white pellets of Altoids gum in a stylish tin.

But Leicht, 35, takes comfort in knowing she is not the only one around City Hall with a mouthful of minty freshness.

"You're not going to see the commissioner chewing gum, but I have noticed a lot of people within the administration, fairly highly placed, who are chewing gum now," she said.

Gum is the nation's favorite snack, according to a survey released last week by the NPD Group, a market-research company. Although people spend more money overall on chocolate — $15 billion in 2004 — it is second on the list. Fresh fruit is third. But neither of those comes close to the number of times people reach for gum daily, said Harry Balzer of NPD, which has been conducting research on what people eat between meals for 20 years.

With many people trying to put fewer calories and fewer cigarettes in their mouths, and with a rising desire for bolder flavors, today's gum game is all about adults.

The $3.3 billion industry grew about 6 percent last year and is stronger this year, according to the National Confectioners Association. At the association's trade show last week, 86gums were introduced, including ones that help people lose weight or taste like chocolate.

Gum makers are experimenting with gums that give chewers a jolt of caffeine, vitamins or cholesterol-reducing drugs. Wrigley has a patent that covers a Viagra gum, although it is years away from development.

The proportion of Americans chewing gum, about two-thirds, has not changed much over the decades. What has changed, according to market research, is the number of times people reach for gum and the reasons they chew, said Brad Irwin, president of Cadbury Adams, whose brands include Bubblicious and Dentyne.

"The No. 1 reason people chew gum is to freshen their breath," he said. "But we're finding that instead of reaching for something with sugar, they reach for a fruit gum to satisfy a sweet craving."

The so-called functional gums had a small but popular presence at the show. The New Jersey manufacturers of Jolt caffeine gum were showing off their latest chew, Nutri-Trim diet gum, with herbs that supposedly increase metabolism. The seller of Blitz spearmint energy gum promised as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Wrigley and Cadbury Adams, which account for half of all gum and mint sales in the United States, offered gum pellets to whiten teeth.

For some, no matter what the flavor, gum chewing will always be a rude habit.

Fred Leicht Jr. of St. Louis, the father of Holly Leicht, explained why.

"When I was growing up, Hollywood and early TV would portray the ditzy blonde working at the diner with tough, coarse language as the gum chewer," he said. "She would always snap the gum. My daughter is a very bright person. I think: 'God, I can't take this. My smart daughter is doing this ditzy thing.' "'