When nicotine enters the body, it is broken down into more than 20 different substances, including cotinine, anabasine, and nornicotine. People eventually excrete these by-products in their urine. Before a clean catch urine test, wash your hands and clean your genitals with a wipe or cloth provided by the health care provider. Then urinate into the toilet briefly before placing the collection container into the urine stream. After the container is filled to a pre-marked level, it is moved out of the urine stream as you finish urinating into the toilet National Center for Biotechnology Information. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Published May 2008. Accessed February 2, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63957/ The cutoff values for a positive test result (also called the test’s reference range) are not standard between laboratories and vary based on the test’s purpose, the type of test sample, and the individual laboratory or at-home testing kit. The rate at which nicotine can be absorbed by the blood varies from person to person. It depends on the consumed amount in the particular brand of the cigarette and the way the person takes it. However, it’s instantly absorbed by blood i.e. within seconds of puffing on a cigarette or after taking a long draw from your vape.

Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. This is a type of tobacco that people place in the mouth in the same way as nicotine pouches, in its moist form, or sniff, in its dry form. Dipping tobacco, or “dip,” is another form of moist snuff. Hadland SE, Levy S. Objective Testing: Urine and Other Drug Tests. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2016;25(3):549-565. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2016.02.005When a woman is pregnant and wants to assess the health of unborn and in breastfeeding mothers to find out if the infant is getting its harmful effects through the milk Nicotine excites the brain’s reward circuitry, making cigarettes moreish, but as your brain re-tunes itself to having its chemistry altered over the long-term, the effect of going too long without putting nicotine in your brain becomes increasingly punishing. Other tests: Additional nicotine metabolites that can be measured in the body include trans-3′-hydroxycotinine and nornicotine, although testing for these is less common. Other substances, such as anabasine, may be measured to help distinguish between tobacco use and nicotine replacement therapies.

National Cancer Institute. Definition of Metabolite. Date unknown. Accessed February 2, 2023. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/metabolite For urine drug testing performed in a laboratory, you may be instructed to collect a clean catch urine sample. The clean catch method is used to prevent contamination of the sample. The safest option is to go nicotine free and cut out all forms of tobacco, even for people who do not smoke it. There are a lot of reasons why you might have to take a nicotine or cotinine test. Some of the most common reasons include:As with other tests, discuss any prescription medicines, over-the-counter medications, or supplements you are taking with your doctor.