“Vietnam Bans Chewing Gum Like Singapore? Nope — Pure Sticky Fiction”
It is widely claimed online that Vietnam bans the import and sale of chewing gum, similar to Singapore's famous 1992 ban. This is false — Vietnam has no such law and operates a thriving, legal chewing gum market.
Singapore's real chewing gum ban
This claim is almost certainly a myth born from confusion with Singapore's genuine and internationally famous chewing gum ban. In January 1992, Singapore enacted a ban on the sale, import, and manufacture of chewing gum — one of the world's most widely discussed 'weird laws' — after vandals began sticking gum on MRT train door sensors and in public spaces, causing costly maintenance problems. The ban was enacted under Singapore Statute Chapter 57 (the Control of Manufacture Act) and remains in force today, with a partial exception introduced in 2004 for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine gum under the Singapore-US Free Trade Agreement.
Vietnam's thriving legal gum market
Vietnam, by contrast, has never enacted any such prohibition. The Vietnamese chewing gum market is active and growing: Lotte established production and sales operations in Ho Chi Minh City as far back as 1996, and brands like Wrigley's Doublemint, Mentos, and Big Babol are openly sold by Vietnamese wholesalers. A consumer survey found that roughly half of Vietnamese respondents chew gum 1–3 times per day, with Lotte Xylitol and Doublemint identified as market leaders.
How the mix-up likely spread
The myth likely spread through uncritical 'weird laws of the world' listicle websites that either wrongly attribute Singapore's law to Vietnam (both being Southeast Asian nations), or fabricate a parallel ban to add regional 'colour' to lists of unusual laws. Vietnam and Singapore are both ASEAN members and are sometimes loosely grouped together in travel content, making the mix-up plausible. No credible legal database, government source, or serious journalistic outlet corroborates a Vietnamese chewing gum ban.
Where the story gets it wrong
This claim is entirely false. It is commonly confused with Singapore's real and well-documented chewing gum ban, in force since 1992. Vietnam has a legal, commercially active chewing gum market with both domestic manufacturing (Lotte Vietnam) and imported brands freely sold nationwide.
No such law exists. Vietnam's official list of prohibited imports (Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP) covers weapons, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, sky lanterns, used consumer goods, and banned publications — chewing gum is entirely absent. Multiple major international chewing gum manufacturers, including Lotte and Wrigley, legally produce and sell gum in Vietnam.
- Current status
- Unknown
- Penalty
- N/A — law does not exist
- Jurisdiction
- Claimed to apply nationally across Vietnam. No such national law exists.