Alert Energy Caffeine Gum
- Cause of death
- Killed by regulation
- Made by
- Wrigley
Wrigley halted production, sales and marketing on 8 May 2013 after meetings with the FDA, which had opened a review of caffeine added to foods the day after the gum went on sale.
Wrigley put Alert on sale on 29 April 2013 with 40mg of caffeine per piece, about the same as half a cup of coffee. On 30 April, one day later, the FDA announced it would take a fresh look at caffeine in food and its effect on children and teenagers. Nine days after launch Wrigley paused the product, and the FDA publicly applauded the retreat and asked the rest of the industry to show similar restraint. The gum returned in October 2017 as Alert Caffeine Gum, same 40mg per piece, after the FDA guidelines Wrigley had been waiting on never arrived.
Standing in the archive
Rank 126 of 127 by lifespan. Alert Energy Caffeine Gum outlasted 1% of everything else on file.
Cite this entry
"Alert Energy Caffeine Gum." How Long It Lasted, https://www.howlongitlasted.com/thing/alert-energy-caffeine-gum.
Died nearby
- Boeing 767 Freighterabout 31 years · killed by regulation
- Cape Kennedyabout 9 years · killed by regulation
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- Czechoslovakia, as a country nameabout 74 years · killed by regulation
- Dodge Viperabout 25 years · killed by regulation
Sources
- Wrigley halts production of caffeine gum — CNN
- Wrigley: Maybe We Won't Sell Caffeinated Gum After All — NPR
- Mars Wrigley seeks sales jolt with caffeine gum relaunch — Food Dive
Last checked by a human on 24 July 2026