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A 44-year-old member asked:

How long do you have to go without smoking or chewing tobacco to pass a tobacco swab screening test?

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Alan Wartenberg
A Verified Doctoranswered
Addiction Medicine 51 years experience
To be sure, at least: a week. Generally oral swabs will pick up any tobacco use within 3-5 days. I strongly suggest using that as a head start to complete cessation. Failing a cotinine screen (the metabolite of nicotine is what is actually measured) is nowhere near as bad as lung cancer, throat or mouth cancer, emphysema, heart attack or stroke, all of which are potentially waiting for you out there if you continue.
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Last updated May 27, 2015

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