Last updated : December 16, 2024
The short answer to the title question is, “Nope.” Not if you’re trying to keep it from showing that you have drugs in your system anyway. However, we recently discovered some news that may surprise you regarding cigarette smoking and mouth swab drug tests.
Curious to find out what it is?
Some companies test for nicotine
In case you weren’t aware, nicotine is addictive. It’s a naturally occurring component in tobacco. However, once scientists discovered that it had addictive qualities—way back in the 1950s—it was a game changer for the industry. Tobacco was genetically modified to increase the nicotine levels to twice the strength. Through the years, studies continued and other additives continued to strengthen the addictive quality that nicotine has on the human brain.
Despite the growing knowledge of the detrimental effects that smoking has on the lungs and heart, the industry was not shy about noting they knew exactly what they were doing. For example, back in 1972, Phillip Morris’ Principal Scientist W.L. Dunn was quoted as saying, “No one has ever become a cigarette smoker by smoking cigarettes without nicotine.” Eventually, due to the increasing number of people trying to hold the industry responsible for the poor health and death of loved ones, they added a disclaimer to tobacco products in hopes of dissuading people from picking them up.
Cigarette smoking had already become widely accepted as a social norm by that point however and the disclaimer is still largely ignored. A growing number of the population lives their lives smoke-free, however, and over the past several decades have begun to push back with anti-smoking campaigns.
Smoking in public buildings is all but non-existent. Most employers, though, don’t have a problem with employees who smoke if they grab their fix outside. Some employers—hospitals come to mind—ban smoking on the property entirely as part of their healthy lifestyle campaign.
Adding nicotine to the company drug test seems a bit far-fetched to many and some states forbid it. Unless you’ve lost a loved one who smoked to emphysema, lung cancer, or heart disease, that is, because then it’s easy to understand the push for living a life free of an addiction to cigarettes. Smoke-free environments promote good health.
Employers who push for a nicotine-free environment do it to make the workplace healthier for all employees. It can also lower insurance costs.
How do they test for nicotine?
Drug testing companies offer standard drug tests and many contain the same drugs no matter which manufacturer they’re purchased from. For instance, a standard 5 panel drug test contains test panels for marijuana, phencyclidine (PCP), amphetamines, cocaine, and opiates. However, employers are free to add other test panes, such as nicotine, for instance, as well.
If it’s more convenient, drug testing companies, like ours, for instance, can easily create a drug test that only tests for drugs specified by the company.
Test methods
Employers use three primary methods for employee drug testing. All of them are capable of detecting nicotine or any type of drug, including designer drugs such as bath salts and steroids.
Those drug testing methods are:
- Mouth swab drug test—Otherwise known as the oral fluid drug test, this test is considered non-invasive and the test subject is never out of sight of the test administrator. This makes cheating the test impossible.
- Urine drug test—The urine test remains the most widely used employee drug test. It’s cost-effective and widely accepted by employees.
- Hair drug test—This drug test offers employers the longest “look back” period. Hair tests yield results for ninety days before the test is given. It’s considered the least invasive employee drug test on the market.
Even though the urine test still reigns supreme as the most used method for employee drug testing, the mouth swab and hair follicle tests are gaining in popularity. Mainly because they’ve been around long enough to have solid data proving their reliability now. Continuing technological advances in the drug testing industry can contribute to that fact along with the improved sophistication of laboratory equipment.
Employee drug testing promotes healthy living
Even if you don’t test employees for nicotine use, kicking off a healthy lifestyle campaign within the company is a great idea. Providing employees with the information they need to kick start a healthier style of living can include information about the dangers of cigarette smoking, as well as the dangers of drug abuse and addiction. Foods that shatter our metabolisms, as well as providing information about foods that maximize our health are also ways to entice employees to engage in a healthier lifestyle.
As far as employee drug testing goes, don’t drop that from your company policies. It’s a great way to promote a healthy lifestyle and a safe workplace. People who use drugs are less likely to apply and those who don’t will be lining up at the door!
When employers drug test, it shows employees that you care about them as people. Providing a safe environment for them to work increases their sense of satisfaction. And, satisfied employees work hard for the companies they choose to work for which means your production levels are going to increase.
Moreover, there are other benefits that employers who operate a drug-free workplace enjoy.
They are:
- Lower instances of tardiness
- Absenteeism drops
- Fewer workplace accidents
- Reduced turnover rate
- Lower workers’ insurance premiums—not applicable in all states
And, back to those satisfied employees, they’re going to be happier employees too. This, in turn, is going to have a positive impact on the workplace culture as a whole. Let’s keep the ball rolling into the possibilities associated with that!
Now, you’re driving it home—and score!
