Q: 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.
A: 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.

Q: Petroleum jelly products like Vaseline act as a shield, helping to seal in the natural moisture of your eyelashes and eyebrows. Just simply put some Vaseline petroleum jelly on the roots of your eyelashes before going to bed. Rinse your eyelashes with warm water in the morning. You can even rub the Vaseline on your eyebrows. You could use a Q-Tip or clean mascara brush to apply. Try applying Vaseline to your eyelashes every night while you sleep and in weeks you should have longer, thicker eyelashes. While some holistic health practitioners warn against petroleum jelly, the kind that you can buy in stores is regarded as safe by both the FDA and Health Canada. However, petroleum jelly from unregulated markets may be dangerous. Stick to brand names from trusted retailers if you use this treatment. These oils are known to strengthen and stimulate eyelash growth. You could also mix them together. Just pour a few drops of the oil onto a Q-Tip, and then coat your eyelashes with it. Keep it on your lashes for a few minutes (around 5-8 minutes) and then rinse. Do this once a day for 1-2 weeks, and you should notice the effect soon. Also apply olive or coconut oil on your eyelids and on the skin under your eyes every night (before you go to bed) for a noticeable effect. Apply olive or coconut oil with a cotton swab. Plan not to use eye makeup on days when you use oil, as the oil could cause cosmetics like mascara to run or bleed. Despite the disgusting idea of rubbing raw eggs on your eyelashes, eggs are a very good way of getting lengthy, healthy eyelashes. The high protein in eggs can help create thicker and longer eyelashes. In addition, eggs contain biotin and B vitamins that play a major role in improving the overall texture of your lashes. Just beat 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of glycerin until you get a thick, creamy texture. Then rub this mixture onto your eyelashes using a cotton swab and keep on for 15 minutes. Rinse off using cold water. Repeat this remedy 3 times a week for a few months. Look for glycerin at your local drugstore, pharmacy, craft store, or grocery store. Use a clean brush or a cotton swab to apply castor oil on your lashes before going to bed. You can also add a few drops of vitamin E oil to the castor oil before applying. Leave it on overnight, then rinse it off with lukewarm water in the morning. Alternatively, mix together 2 tablespoons each of castor oil and fresh aloe vera gel. Apply it on your eyelashes using a cotton swab. Leave it on overnight, then rinse it off the next morning. You could also add a few drops of the oil to your mascara tube. The peels are rich in vitamins C and B, folic acid and other nutrients that promote the growth of eyelashes. Also, when infused in olive or castor oil, they will help enhance the cleansing and stimulating properties of the oil. Put 1 tablespoon of moderately dried lemon peels in a container. Pour enough olive or castor oil into the container, so that the peels get soaked. Allow the mixture to sit for a couple of weeks. Using a clean mascara stick, apply the oil on your eyelashes before going to bed. Leave it on overnight, then wash it off with warm water in the morning. Follow this remedy for a few months to get encouraging results.
A:
Try the Vaseline trick. Put olive oil or coconut oil on your eyelashes. Put an egg pack on your eyelashes. Try using castor oil on your lashes. Use lemon peels to add volume to your eyelashes.