The sugar industry has been having success with the "it's all natural, therefore better than artificial sweetener" angle. That was bad enough.
You're right, though. The tobacco industry could try this one too. I hope there isn't enough overlap between potential tobacco chewers and people who go for the "natural => good" line of thinking.
There is a wonderful episode of DarkHorse Podcast with Michael Mew explaining how gum can help developing otherwise-degrading-due-to-soft-food chewing muscles and to avoiding the need for braces ultimately.
The NYTimes article (and thus the HN thread) gets distracted by the Incel connection, but the reporter ends up agreeing with Mew:
But in the weeks that followed, I experienced a swift, overwhelming change in vision — the kind the Mews’ patients and viewers described undergoing. Suddenly, all around me, people with tiny jaws appeared, their chins merging with their necks, their lips hanging open unconsciously as they read a book in a cafe or stared out the window on the bus. Long faces, tired eyes, crooked smiles. It began to feel as if the Mews might be right on this single but essential point, if on nothing else.
I had heard of Mew through the 2018 book "Jaws", which I recommend (I never heard of the incel thing before this article, and it seems irrelevant). Other orthodontists and anthropologists agree with him -- our jaws are in fact weak and underdeveloped compared to pre-agricultural humans, and animals like wolves and dogs (why do you think dogs need chew toys?). This is one reason I eat more whole foods (and believe in particular that children should be). I never tried chewing gum for it, but the mechanism is pretty obvious. It may or may not help a lot but will probably do something.
I experienced the same thing as the NYTimes reporter. Once you start learning about this area, you can spot people in public with underdeveloped jaws and breathing problems. If you look at a class of 20 kids you can also see it on several of them. You can read their diet off their faces! Good dentists and orthodontists do this very easily so it's not an amazing thing, just something that's there once you know what to look for and pay attention.
What is a good replacement for when you just want to chew on something while working?
I can think of tooth picks or pieces of grass like in old movies but I imagine they have their own problems
Did people just stop chewing or is there a modern replacement?