What is up with bubble gum?

When I was a kid, bubble gum was the bane of parental existence. I liked bubble gum OK, and it was fun, but there were some kids I knew who chewed it extensively, as Violet Beauregarde extensively. Kids blew bubbles big enough to stick to their hair, smacked it and popped it, and made it crackle in class. It came in packs. It came with trading cards. It came in little balls. It was everywhere.

Joey, and increasingly Andy, do well at focus and calming with bubble gum. Regular chewing gum is not as good; you need the soft square consistency to get the desired effect. The liquid-filled crap is right out. The oral heavy work is calming, stabilizing, and organizing.

To our surprise and grief, bubble gum is becoming increasingly difficult to find. For a while we got it at Target, and that was fine. They had the yummy chocolate kind, and Joey really liked that. Then Target switched to the yucky liquid-filled kind and no more chocolate; we went to CVS and found our treasure, though only in strawberry or watermelon. So be it. But now they've gone to tape or liquid-filled. So the hunt is on... where to find bubble gum in a consistent supply? Why doesn't any one store sell the whole selection of bubble gum? Am I going to be reduced to ordering it online, where you have to buy it in bulk (I wasn't thinking I was going to need to make a sudden $75 investment in bubble gum!) (*note: the investment is because generally, sites offer free shipping at that amount. Otherwise, the shipping is the same as the cost of a whole box of gum...)

So what's the deal? Are kids not chewing bubble gum anymore? Is ther some kind of bubble gum strike? Why can't I get my hands on regular, yummy, not-stale bubble gum???