How to Get Nicotine Out of Your System: Easy Ways to Prep for a Drug Test

• Drink plenty of water to help flush nicotine and its byproducts out of your system more quickly.
• Eat leafy greens and fruits such as blackberries and cranberries to help your body metabolize nicotine more quickly.
• Engage in cardiovascular activity to flush nicotine out through your sweat.
• Quit smoking completely to remove all nicotine from your system for good.

Flushing Out Nicotine with Food and Drink

Drink lots of water to help flush toxins from your body. Nicotine is expelled through urine. Drinking water causes you to urinate more, which removes nicotine from your body more quickly. So drink up to increase your chances of passing a urine test administered by your employer. As a rule of thumb, aim for at least 15.5 cups (3.7 L) of fluids per day if you're an adult man, 11.5 cups (2.7 L) if you're an adult woman. As of 2023, 29 US states and the District of Columbia have laws that protect smokers and prohibit employers from testing for nicotine.

Supplement water with other healthy beverages. Hot tea can help accelerate your body's metabolism of nicotine to get rid of it faster. Fruit juices also help hydrate you and have nutrients that can increase the rate at which your body metabolizes nicotine. When trying to clear nicotine out of your body, avoid alcohol, soda, and coffee, which are diuretics that actually dehydrate you.

Eat foods that are rich in antioxidants. Whole foods that are rich in antioxidants help flush toxins from your body more quickly through urine and sweat. In addition to exercising and drinking plenty of water, add the following foods to your diet: Leafy vegetables, such as kale or spinach Nuts, including peanuts, walnuts, and pecans Fruits such as blackberries, cranberries, and strawberries

Eat foods that stimulate the liver to produce bile. Nicotine is metabolized primarily through the liver, so stimulating the production of liver enzymes will help your body metabolize nicotine more quickly. To get rid of nicotine more quickly, eat foods that prompt bile production, including: Garlic Onions Egg yolks Vegetables such as radishes, leeks, asparagus, celery, and carrots

Take a vitamin C supplement to accelerate your metabolism. When your metabolism is accelerated, your body will process and eliminate nicotine even faster. Foods that are naturally high in vitamin C include oranges, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, papaya, and kiwi. Vitamin C supplements also achieve the same effect and are easily available from your local grocery store.

Sweating Out Nicotine

Get your blood pumping with some cardio exercise. Cardio can be tough if you've been a regular smoker, but jogging and other cardio workouts raise your heart rate and cause you to sweat. Since nicotine leaves your body through sweat, this can help you get rid of the nicotine in your system faster. Make sure you jog long enough to work up a sweat—usually at least 15-20 minutes. If jogging isn't your thing, walking works just as well! Just as long as you get that blood pumping. If it's cold outside, head to a gym and run on a treadmill.

Visit a sauna to remove nicotine through sweat. Studies show nicotine passes from your body through sweat. In the hot, steamy environment of a sauna, you're sure to work up a sweat, which will help you remove more nicotine from your body than you otherwise would have. If you don't have a sauna at your disposal, go for other hot environments that will make you sweat. For example, you might lay out in the sun for a couple of hours (just make sure to wear sunscreen).

Stop smoking to permanently remove nicotine from your body. To remove all of the nicotine from your body and keep it gone for good, quit using any tobacco products. This includes not just smoking but also nicotine replacement products, such as patches, gum, inhalers, or lozenges. Quitting smoking isn't an easy thing to do, but you've got this! Just stay focused on your goal and keep busy to help reduce the temptation to smoke. Quitting smoking improves your lung functioning and reduces your risk of throat, mouth, esophagus, and bladder cancer by 50%.