Drugs Info Mania: How long does nicotine stays in your system?

Nicotine use may not only be evidenced based on one’s symptoms; some diagnostics are currently available to find nicotine within the body.

When one smokes, nicotine indrawn is then metabolized into cotinine in organs like the lungs and also the liver, and after excreted in the urine. Apart from the nicotine, cotinine could be a strong biomarker and indicator for nicotine use, detectable in the urine, blood, and saliva as well.

The length of time that nicotine stays in the body and cotinine will be a reliable indicator of nicotine use depends on the quantity of tobacco smoked, the number of years smoking tobacco, and also the kind of nicotine test performed. It will be as short as a couple of days, or as long as three months.

How long does nicotine stay in Your Blood?

Nicotine is metabolized into cotinine, which then admixes with blood. The Liver detoxification process then takes place, facilitating removal of toxins from the blood. This method is slow compared to the elimination of waste produced by the kidney in the form of urine that takes place at a quicker rate.

In these blood tests, nicotine is visible typically one to three days after last use of a nicotine-containing product, like cigarettes, smoke-free tobacco, and nicotine patches or gum. This could also vary in part of the amount of nicotine use, and therefore the individual’s health and age.

On the other hand, when cotinine levels are used for determination, it's going to take one to ten days till the levels are undetectable from the blood.

However, a variety of reasons can result in false positive results of nicotine in the blood. These include working at metal purification areas where high levels of thiocyanate present, consumption of thiocyanate containing foods like cabbage, broccoli, almonds and mustards, and intake of medicines like amphetamines. Laboratory errors should even be thought of.

How long does nicotine stay in your urine?

When inhaled, nicotine is converted into cotinine that in conjunction with the body’s wastes products is excreted in the urine. In detecting nicotine and its metabolites within the body, levels stay detectable in the urine just for three to four days.

However, this might be different for some cases. For passive smokers, urine nicotine check may be positive for as long as fifteen to twenty days. Cotinine might also take longer to be excreted with wastes if menthol cigarettes are used.

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Nicotine saliva test:

This is known to be the most accurate nicotine drug test and is most preferred. It doesn't only eliminate the necessity to handle urine specimens, however, it may also provide an approximate quantity of tobacco consumed by the person. It will detect levels 0 to 2,000ng/ml of nicotine, a range lower than which can be determined by the urine test.

In this test, an individual should give a saliva sample, during which a strip is soaked for twenty minutes. The saliva then reacts with cotinine, indicating several different levels of cotinine and suggesting the quantity of nicotine exposure.