Write an article based on this "Make sure the tobacco test is being performed legally. Understand how the screen works. Stop using all kinds of tobacco at least 5-7 days before the test. Flush out your system by drinking diuretics. Don't blow money on "detox" drinks. Blame second-hand smoke."
While South Carolina is the only state that has outlawed tobacco screens entirely it's important to know that more than half the states in the United States have provisions in place that prevent employers from establishing hiring practices or incorporating punishment based on your activities outside of work, including tobacco use. If you live in one of the 29 states with these provisions in place, you don't need to submit for a tobacco screen willfully.  Click here for a state-by-state breakdown of tobacco screening laws. "Tobacco tests" are usually performed by screening for cotinine, and are usually some combination of mouth swabs, urinalysis, and blood testing. Cotinine is the primary metabolite of nicotine. Nicotine leaves the body in a few hours, but cotinine has a longer half-life, and is usually present for up to a week.  Cotinine has a half-life of 16 hours, meaning that half of all the trace leaves your body every 16 hours, or so. If you're a light smoker, most of it should be gone in 48 hours, depending on how much you smoke, but most tests will pick up trace amounts, especially in the mouth swab. Cotinine tests screen for smokable as well as smokeless tobacco, including vape pens and other e-cigarettes. Depending on how much you smoke, there's no way of knowing how much time you'll need to be all the way in the clear, but with the right combination of techniques, you can be fairly confident that you'll pass if you stop using any kind of nicotine 3-4 days before your test for lighter smokers and 5-7 days for heavier smokers. Read the next section to learn how to quit for a week, or more.  If you smoke in excess of a pack a day, may need to quit smoking farther out ahead of your test. It can't ever hurt to stop earlier, if possible. If you're a social smoker, or only smoke occasionally, just make sure you quit a few days leading up to the test and you should be fine. Any time you've got to pass a urine screen and you're worried about cutting it close, start increasing the amount of fluids you're drinking throughout the day.  Drink plain filtered water. It's good to drink as much as two liters per day, or about half a gallon, to keep your body flushing itself regularly. Drink warm water with a little bit of lemon in it. To break it up, try warm water with garlic, leeks, or ginger to help your body eliminate fluids. Drink lots of herbal tea, containing ginger, dandelion root, juniper, which have natural diuretic properties. Drink lots of natural cranberry juice. Most commercial drinks labelled "cran" something or other are really low in actual cranberry juice and high in sugar and apple. If you can, try to get real cranberry juice that's 100% cranberry for the best diuretic effect. Go to any head shop and you can find a variety of expensive beverages that all guarantee you can pass any drug or tobacco screen and keep smoking right up to the test. Read the ingredients. These drinks are usually just some combination of fruit juices and electrolytes that you'll pay an arm and a leg for, which won't be any more effective than drinks you can get for free, or for much cheaper. Use some smarts and avoid throwing money away on these drinks. If trace amounts show up on your screen, it is possible to blame a smoky bar, a smoky band practice, or other possible second-hand smoke encounters, although this may conflict with prior questionnaire information that you may have filled out in anticipation of the test.  Most cotinine screens are performed in the workplace for insurance purposes. If a trace amount showed up, you can usually get out of it pretty easily with an excuse like this. If you smoke the day of the test, the amounts will be much higher, though, and you won't be able to blame second-hand smoke for that. You still need to quit, for a few days at least.