Death By Chewing Gum
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A young woman may have died because of chewing too much gum.
Samantha Jenkins, 19, collapsed in a violent fit inside her home after complaining of a headache in June 2011.
“She had complained of feeling unwell that day and told me she felt a headache coming on and had pins and needles,” Jenkins’ mother, Maria Morgan, 45, said to the Swansea Coroner’s Court. “She went upstairs that night and suddenly shouted down to me: ‘Is this what it feels like to die? I feel paralyzed’.”
Jenkins later died in a hospital of cerebral hypoxia (brain swelling) caused by convulsions due to low levels of calcium, magnesium and salt in her body. Jenkins’ death was initially attributed to natural causes.
However, after Jenkins’ death, Morgan looked through her daughter’s belongings, where she found hundreds of sugar-free Trident chewing gum wrappers. Morgan believed her daughter’s death was a direct result of the teenager’s excessive consumption of chewing gum. Jenkins was known to chew up to 14 pieces of mint gum a day.
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fahvel May 8th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
itz dem artifishul sweetners.
Warman1138 May 8th, 2015 at 12:36 pm
She wasn’t just chewing it, she was eating it……makes me want to shudder.
Gindy51 May 8th, 2015 at 12:43 pm
Oh bullshit. Sounds to me like she wasn’t eating properly and staving off hunger pains with sugar free gum.
burqa May 8th, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Huh?
Sugar free gum kills hunger pangs?
whatthe46 May 8th, 2015 at 1:43 pm
what if it was her way of dieting. as long as she’s chewing on something, she doesn’t feel the need to eat much.
burqa May 9th, 2015 at 3:01 pm
That’s very plausible. People get all kinds of, oh, I’m not sure what to call it, “obsession” doesn’t seem quite right.
I used to know an elderly lady who was quite wealthy and formidably intelligent, but for many years a great deal of the time she dined on hot dogs and chocolate milk at home. That was all she would have.
After all, at this point we don’t really know what happened, other than this young lady died far too young and that is tragic and saddening regardless of how it came about.
whatthe46 May 9th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
very true.
burqa May 9th, 2015 at 8:55 pm
Yeah, that’s the thing that’s getting to me, and it has been. I don’t care about the gum and can only vaguely imagine there likely were some issues, but damn! we’re talking about a 19 year old!
A kid, who hardly had a chance to live – dead.
And she leaves behind devastated parents who have to bury their child.
19.
…………………………………………She was just 19…..
Gindy51 May 8th, 2015 at 2:39 pm
Dieting friends of mine chewed gum all the time to stave off eating. I used to do it too when I was young and stupid.
burqa May 9th, 2015 at 4:14 pm
Doing that rings a faint bell back in my head, but not that i did it when younger. Shoot, when I was 19 I was 6-1 and had a hard time getting my weight over 165. I was in superb condition and had such a high metabolism to go with my teenage smartass and tendency to showboat that I could put down 2 large pizzas, no sweat. I could eat a box of cereal with milk and a half cup or so of sugar. I’d just go burn it all off playing basketball for hours.
Doing stupid things when we were young – that could make for an interesting topic of discussion….
trees May 9th, 2015 at 9:42 am
No. Sugar free gum kills teenaged girls.
At least that’s what we’re being led to believe…
robert May 8th, 2015 at 1:50 pm
woman can not live on gum alone
i guess this proves it
Khary A May 8th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
If she was chewing gum to manage weight, it’s a shame. This says to me that the issues of body image with women are as damaging and deadly as any physical attack. It’s sad.
William May 9th, 2015 at 10:18 am
Spot on.
There is an entire culture built around the notion that women must look, weigh, smell and dress in a manner that is acceptable to whatever Vogue and Cosmo deems attractive.
Marylyn Monroe was around 150 pounds at the height of her career. Today she’d be dismissed by Hollywood.
Chris May 8th, 2015 at 7:02 pm
This was a very incomplete, shoddy news report.
Until more details are forthcoming, it’s not worth reading.
trees May 9th, 2015 at 8:45 am
I thought the same thing after reading it.
trees May 9th, 2015 at 8:54 am
The death is unfortunate and unusual. An autopsy is probably warranted, but let’s conduct an investigation and follow the evidence before we reach a conclusion.