Wrigley Pulls Gum: FDA Compares Product to 'Four Cups of Coffee in Your Pocket'

After added flak from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for adding caffeine to candy, Wrigley is pulling their caffeine gum off the market. The FDA has also said that many of the energy foods are promoted with social media campaigns, which unfairly targets young people when too much caffeine can be detrimental to their health.

Major medical associations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, say that too much caffeine in children can be dangerous and has even been linked to harmful effects on young people's developing neurological and cardiovascular systems.

A stick of the gum has an amount of caffeine equivalent to half a cup of coffee.

"After discussions with the FDA, we have a greater appreciation for its concern about the proliferation of caffeine in the nation's food supply," President of the FDA, Casey Keller said in a statement to The Associated Press. "There is a need for changes in the regulatory framework to better guide the consumers and the industry about the appropriate level and use of caffeinated products."

Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner of foods, said Wrigley's decision to stop production for now "demonstrates real leadership and commitment to the public health."

"We hope others in the food industry will exercise similar restraint," Taylor said.

Taylor said he hopes that this may give Wrigley a change to more closely monitor ingredients used in certain foods, especailly when the gum, which he equated to "four cups of coffee in pocket" can cause illness or even death.