Urine Drug Test Kit Guide And FAQ
A guide to the different types of urine drug testing kits available
We have a huge range of drug test kits available to buy online, so we have put together this guide below to urine drug test kits, to help you choose if urine drug testing is right for your needs. If you need any advice or help with urine drug screening please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you need help finding the best urine drug test, take our quick and easy quiz to find the right urine drug test for you, or contact our customer support team via chat for advice.
Buy urine drug test kits online in UK
What is a UA drug test?
"UA" commonly stands for "urinalysis" when referring to drug testing. Urinalysis is a common method used to detect various substances in the body, including drugs. During a urinalysis drug test, a sample of urine is collected and analysed for the presence of specific drugs or their metabolites. This type of drug testing is frequently used in employment drug screenings, probation monitoring, and in various other situations where drug use detection is necessary.
Why choose urine drug test kits?
- Ease of use and low cost per test kit: The big advantage to urine drug testing is its very easy to do, and the reason why it is still the most popular method of drug screening in the UK, is its low cost when compared to either saliva drug testing, fingerprint tests or hair drug testing.
- Detection time for drugs in urine is much longer and more reliable for some drugs and in particular Cannabis compared to saliva drug screening.
- Broad range of substances can be detected: Urine tests can detect a wide variety of substances, including but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines. This broad detection capability makes them versatile tools in both workplace settings and in clinical or rehabilitation contexts.
- Widely accepted and established method of drug screening: Urine testing is one of the most common and accepted forms of drug testing in the UK and worldwide. It is standardised, and there are established protocols and cutoff levels for various substances, making it a reliable choice for many organisations and contexts.
- Cost-effective: Urine drug tests are generally less expensive than other types of tests, such as blood, hair, or sweat or saliva tests. This makes urine testing a more feasible option for large-scale or routine drug screening programs.
- Familiarity and comfort with drug testing procedure: Both administrators and test subjects tend to be more familiar with urine drug testing procedures, which can reduce anxiety and make the process smoother. The familiarity also means that administrators are well-versed in handling common issues or concerns that may arise during the collection process.
- Legal and regulatory compliance: In some cases, organisations opt for urine drug testing to comply with legal or regulatory requirements in their industry. Certain industries, especially those involving public safety (such as railways in the UK), may have specific guidelines that mandate the use of urine drug testing.
- Availability of point-of-care tests: Urine drug tests are widely available in point-of-care formats that can provide immediate preliminary results. While confirmatory laboratory testing is often required to confirm positive results for official purposes, these initial screening tests can be useful for on-the-spot screening.
How do urine drug test kits work?
Urine drug test kits that work by lateral flow enzyme immunoassay, are still one of the most commonly used methods of drug testing in the UK.
Multi-drug urine drug testing kits are available in two formats
- You can either go for an integrated cup urine drug test kit,as shown above, where the urine drug test panel has been integrated into the urine drug test cup.
- Some of the integrated urine drug testing cups also have a temperature strip and adulteration strip built into the drug test cup.
- This is the best type of urine drug test kit for workplace drug testing, as the urine sample can be easily retained and sent for laboratory confirmation if required.
- Integrated cup urine drug testing kits cost around £6 per test when you buy them in bulk packs of 25 drug test kits. These urine drug test kits are also available singly.
Multi-drug test urine drug screening cups are available in two formats:
Generally the screw lid drug test cups are cheaper than the split key cup drug test cups, which are more costly to manufacture and transport being bulkier. Again the cost of the drug test kit also depends on the drugs that it screens for, as well as the drug test format. They cost from £5.56 for a single screw lid 7 panel urine drug test cup that screens for seven drugs, to up to £8.99 for a 16 panel screw lid urine drug test cup. which screens for 16 drugs.
Multi-panel urine drug test kits are cheaper to buy that integrated cup urine drug test kits
Single urine drug test kits are also available in two formats
Single urine drug test kits are available in either urine drug test strip or urine drug test cassette format. They are available for most drugs including lots of the newer drugs, including NPS.
They are a very much cheaper urine test kit for drugs to buy, as each drug test kit only tests urine for one drug, but they are just as accurate as multi-drug tests. They are a very good choice if you just wish to screen urine for just one drug.
How much does a urine drug test kit cost?
How much a urine drug test kit costs depends on the format of drug test that you choose and the number of drugs that are being tested for and which drugs you are testing for. Some drug test membranes (usually those testing for newer drugs) cost considerably more than others.
The lowest cost cheapest type of urine drug test kit is a urine drug testing strip starting at £2.40 for a pack of 5 MDMA drug test strips up to £22.60 for a pack of 5 Pregabalin urine drug test strips. Urine drug test strips are a very cost effective type of drug testing, when you only need to screen for one or two drugs. They are particular popular in drug treatment or drug rehab programs, where you are monitoring abstinence from a specific drug.
The multi-panel urine drug test kits range in price from around £2.99 for a 5 panel up to £5.25 for a 10 panel urine drug test kit. They are a very cost effective method of drug testing when you want to screen for multiple drugs on one urine sample.
Integrated multi-drug urine drug test cups are the most expensive type of urine drug test kit, but still offer great value for money for drug screening when compared to saliva drug test kits or laboratory urine drug tests.
Can you do a nicotine urine test?
A nicotine urine test is a type of drug test that detects the presence of a metabolite of nicotine, cotinine, in urine. It is commonly used to determine whether someone has recently used tobacco products, nicotine replacement therapies (such as patches or gum), or e-cigarettes (vapes). A Cotinine test on a drug test appears as COT.
Urine drug test detection times
- As a general rule most drugs of abuse are detected in a urine sample for between 3-5 days after last use although there is some variation from drug to drug, see detailed information on detection times below.
- The exception to this is Cannabis ( also known as THC, Marijuana, Hash, Hashish or Hemp ) which can be detected for up to 30 days in some heavy Cannabis users.
- Single urine drug test kits
Urine drug test kits codes & abbreviations
What do the codes on a urine drug test kit mean, & how long can the drug be detected for in urine after last use?
- AMP 1000ng/ml Amphetamines Speed, amp or whizz. 2-6 days
- BAR 300ng/ml Barbiturates Depressants, Barbs, Downers 3-8 days
- BUP 10ng/ml Buprenorphine Subutex 3-6 days
- BZO 300ng/ml Benzodiazepines Benzos, Rohypnol or roofies 2-14 days
- COC 300ng/ml Cocaine Coke, crack or Charlie. 2-5 days
- KET 1000ng/ml Ketamine, Special K or K 3-5 days
- MDMA 1000ng/ml Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Ecstasy or E's 2-6 days
- MET 1000ng/ml Methamphetamines Glass, ice or meth. 2-6 days
- MOP 300ng/ml Morphine, Heroin, Opiates, smack or gear 2-5 days
- MOR 300ng/ml Morphine, Heroin, Opiates, smack or gear 2-5 days
- MTD 300ng/ml Methadone Dolly, Red Rock 2-8 days
- OPI 2000ng/ml Opiates Heroin, smack or gear. 2-5 days
- PCP 25ng/ml Phencyclidine Angel dust or peace pill 3 - 8 days
- TCA 300ng/ml Tricyclic Antidepressants TCA 6 -10 days depending on the duration of drug use.
- THC 50ng/ml Marijuana Cannabis, puff, spliff, Marijuana, Hashish, Hemp or hash. Casual use 2-14 days heavy use up to 30 days.
- EDDP 300ng/ml EDDP screening tests. Detects for up to 5 days after use
- OXY 300ng/ml Oxycodone 2-5 days
- PXP 300ng/ml Propoxyphene 2-5days
- COT 200ng Cotinine (nicotine) 2-5 days
- K2 / K3 Spice 50ng 2-3 days
Does a urine drug test kit indicate how much drug has been used?
- A urine drug test kit screens the urine sample for the presence of either the parent drug or its metabolites, however, it does not indicate how much of the drug has been used or the level of the drug in the sample.
- A positive result on a urine drug testing kit, only indicates that the drug or its metabolites are present in the urine sample, at levels at or above the detection level of the urine drug screening test kit used.
- To get an exact level of the drug in the urine sample a lab urine drug test would need to be performed
What drugs can be detected in a urine test
There are now a huge range of drugs that can be detected on a urine drug test and the number is increasing all the time. As new drugs are developed and become available in the community, the drug testing kit manufacturers develop drug tests to detect them.
See our full range of urine drug test kits available in UK
Urine drug test kits are available for the following drugs listed in alphabetical order:
- 6-MAM (heroin specific)
- Amphetamine
- Barbiturate
- Benzodiazepines
- Buprenorphine
- Cannabis
- Carfentanyl
- CBD
- Cocaine
- Cotinine (nicotine)
- Ecstacy MDMA
- EDDP
- ETG (80 hour alcohol test)
- Fentanyl
- Gabapentin
- GHB
- K2-K3 synthetic Cannabis
- Ketamine
- LSD
- Mephedrone MCAT
- Meperidine
- Methadone
- Methamphetamine
- Opiates
- Oxycodone
- PCP (phencyclidine)
- Pregabalin
- Propoxythene
- Quetiapine (Seroquel)
- Tramadol
- Trazodone
- TCA Tricyclic antidepressants
- Zolpidem
Single urine drug test strips and drug test kits
Multi-panel urine drug test kits
See UK Drug Testing full range of urine test kits for drugs
Can I talk to someone about urine drug test kits
Yes of course we will be happy to help. Our UK Drug Testing customer support team are available Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm to answer your questions about urine drug testing. They can be contacted via our website chat, telephone and email.