Niacin can be toxic when used to "beat" drug test

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who take niacin pills to help them pass a urine drug test may not only fail the test, but also land themselves in the emergency room, according to doctors.

Writing in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania describe four individuals who used high doses of niacin to try to beat their impending drug screening tests. Urban legend holds that the B vitamin helps quickly flush drugs from the body.

However, the tactic not only doesn't work, but can also cause life-threatening side effects, according to Dr. Manoj K. Mittal, the lead author of the case reports.

Of the four patients who arrived at his emergency room after a self-prescribed niacin regimen, two developed severe reactions, including liver toxicity, heart palpitations and metabolic acidosis -- a potentially deadly buildup of acid in the blood.

"The main message from my study for people hoping to beat drug tests is that not only is niacin ineffective at this, but that it is actually dangerous and potentially life-threatening when taken in large amounts," Mittal told Reuters Health.

Niacin, or vitamin B3, is a needed nutrient, and it's commonly prescribed to help treat high cholesterol. But niacin has also gained a reputation as a way to beat urine drug tests.

The vitamin aids in the metabolism of food, and this seems to have led to the assumption that niacin speeds metabolism and the body's clearance of illegal drugs, Mittal explained. On top of that, one of the common side effects of niacin is flushing, or reddening of the skin.

"It seems that the word 'flushing' has been taken out of context and people have started to believe that it 'flushes' the drugs from the body," Mittal said.