Chewing Gum Prohibited In Mail And Parcels To USs.r.

Researching something else, I was reading a 1964 issue of the US Postal Bulletin, and encountered a notice that chewing gum was prohibited in mail and parcels to the U.S.S.R.

I couldn't help finding that curious, if not humorous. It was, of course, the height of the Cold War. Goldwater is running for President on the Republican ticket. But it was also the era of Beatlemania and other manifestations of the decadent West. Who would have thought that chewing gum was subversive?

Stamp collecting is informative and educational in so many ways.

Basil

Maybe they thought the US or someone else would send chemically laced gum there in a Manchurian candidate operation? Lol

I just did a quick check of the Postal Bulletin and as of 1986 they lifted the ban (up to 7 oz.) for personal use.

What would have concerned me more than chewing gum, was the fact that in the 1960s the USSR prohibited stamps and stamp collections to be mailed to someone in that country!

By the way, speaking of chewing gum, it's still banned in Singapore, (except for medicinal purposes) and according to Wiki the ban was imposed because of littering/damage to public property rather than any health or anti-health reasons!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewin...in_Singapore

It is illegal not just to send it through the mail, but to possess it or chew it in many Pacific countries. I was in Indonesia, and was told at the airport that if I had any I had to put it in the can right there. I hear there is a major problem with it being thrown on the sidewalks. I didn't SEE that, but I heard it...

What with all the contemporary accusations of chewing gum being laced with HIV and infertility drugs, perhaps the Soviets were just ahead of their time?