NIACIN WON'T MASK DRUGS; LARGE DOSES ARE DANGEROUS

Although it is touted on the Internet as a way to beat a drug test,
taking large doses of the over-the-counter supplement niacin, also
known as vitamin B3, is both ineffective and potentially dangerous,
researchers at the University of Pennsylvania warn.

Emergency physician Manoj K. Mittal of Children's Hospital of
Philadelphia and her colleagues reported last month in the Annals of
Emergency Medicine that they had treated four patients for niacin
overdose during the past two years. All had taken large quantities of
the vitamin after using marijuana or cocaine, and all recovered from
the overdose of niacin.

Two patients, both in their early 20s, said they used the vitamin to
conceal drug use before undergoing pre-employment urine tests to
detect illegal drug use. A third patient, a 14-year-old boy, said he
took niacin the day before he was to meet with his parole officer; the
fourth, a 17-year-old girl who was found unconscious, said she popped
niacin after using ecstasy and marijuana.

Niacin is one of several over-the-counter supplements popularly
believed to subvert the results of drug testing. The authors note that
a Google search for niacin plus the phrase "pass urine drug test"
yielded more than 85,000 results.

It is erroneously believed, the authors write, that massive doses of
vitamin B3 can rapidly flush drugs from a user's body and produce a
negative drug test for marijuana and cocaine by speeding up metabolism.

In reality, they write, it can prove toxic, causing heart
palpitations, vomiting, blood sugar abnormalities and liver failure.
The recommended daily dose of niacin is about 14 to 16 milligrams per
day; the 14-year-old who was treated at Children's said he took 5,500
milligrams.

An ER physician who does not suspect niacin overdose might conclude
the patient was having a severe allergic reaction and might treat the
patient with possibly harmful drugs, the authors warn.

A companion editorial by toxicologists at the Rocky Mountain Poison
and Drug Center in Denver reported the center had fielded 16 calls
between January and September 2006 from people who said they had taken
niacin to achieve a negative urine test. About half received medical
treatment for overdose, and all recovered, they reported.