Grown man and new White House press secretary Sean Spicer chews an insane amount of gum every day and swallows it whole. His preferred flavor is cinnamon Orbit (made by the Wrigley Company).
"Two and a half packs by noon," Spicer told The Washington Postin an old article. "I talked to my doctor about it, he said it's no problem." This revelation actually came in August 2016 in the midst of the Trump presidential campaign, back when Spicer was still the Republican party's chief strategist and spokesperson, but it gained new currency this week on Twitter as Spicer began his duties as Press Secretary.
We at Motherboard wanted a second opinion about Spicer's gum consumption habit, so we talked to a doctor about it.
Dr. Daniel Motola, a Manhattan-based gastroenterologist, agrees it's probably not a big deal, as long as Spicer doesn't have any side effects from his habit.
Several components in gum can be digested. Those that can't be are either fermented in the colon, or come out in the stool. "It's probably not completely digestible," Motola said in a phone call with Motherboard. "The theoretical risk in eating large amounts of gum is that it could create an intestinal blockage."
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