Haven't read the entire thread, so maybe this has already been mentioned already...wintergreen grows wild in many areas, so it's probably not an unusual odor to deer. The stuff you chew smells stronger than the plants because it's a concentrated odor, but it smells pretty similar to the plant IMO. Not sure if the deer can also smell human odor on it if it's on your trail or not though.

edit: To add, I think all of the scent control stuff varies depending on what the deer are used to smelling. If they're around people year round, smoking, etc is already part of their environment, but if you're far back out of the way, it's probably more foreign to them. One place I bowhunt is covered with biking and hiking trails. I probably need almost no scent control there because the deer commonly step 50 yards into the woods to watch people go by.