A nicotine test is a way for some employers, insurance companies, and other institutions to test for nicotine, which is the active ingredient in tobacco products.
If you’ve ever applied for a new job, you may have had to take a drug test. Many federal, state, and private employers require this testing to ensure employees can be trusted to protect important information or even the health and safety of others.
How Does a Nicotine Test Work?
There are two ways to test for nicotine. Both measure cotinine, a substance created after nicotine enters your body.
Qualitative testing reveals whether you have nicotine in your body.
Quantitative testing actually measures the amount of nicotine or cotinine in your body. It gives more information about your tobacco habits. It can tell whether you’re an active smoker or if you’ve recently quit. If you’re not a tobacco user, it can tell if you’ve been breathing in a lot of tobacco smoke or not.
What Does the Test Look For?
Usually, the tests look for cotinine, not nicotine. That’s because cotinine is more stable and lasts longer in your body. The only reason you’d have cotinine in your body is if you processed nicotine.
Cotinine can show up in a saliva, blood , or urine test. If you have to do a blood test, a lab tech will insert a needle into your vein to collect the sample. If you have to do a urine test, you’ll submit a random urine sample; the sample can be taken at any time of day.
If you’ve quit smoking or using other tobacco products and you’re now on a nicotine replacement product, you may need a test that looks for nicotine, cotinine, and anabasine, a substance that’s found in tobacco but not in nicotine replacement products.
If you test positive, it means anabasine is present in your body, indicating that you’re still using tobacco. It wouldn’t show up if you were just using nicotine replacement products.
| Element Name | What It Means |
| Nicotine | The active ingredient in tobacco products (although most nicotine tests test for cotinine) |
| Cotinine | A byproduct of nicotine that can be found in your blood, urine, and saliva |
| Anabasine | A marker of tobacco use that's in tobacco products (but not nicotine replacement therapies) |
| Nornicotine | Another marker of tobacco use (having nornicotine show up in your test without anabasine suggests the use of nicotine replacement products) |
Does Vaping Show Up on a Nicotine Test?
If you vape nicotine products, vaping may show up on a nicotine test.
Nicotine and cotinine tests are designed to detect nicotine exposure. So, if your vape has nicotine, that would show up on a test. But these tests only check for nicotine exposure, not the method you use. So, if you vape nicotine, the test will only show nicotine exposure, not whether it came from vaping or smoking cigarettes.
When and Why Are the Tests Ordered?
There are a lot of reasons why you might have to take a nicotine or cotinine test. Some of the most common reasons include:
- Court-ordered testing in child custody cases
- For smoking cessation programs
- When applying for health or life insurance
- Before certain surgeries
- For employment
- If your doctor suspects nicotine overdose
How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your System?
The amount of nicotine in your blood rises just seconds after you smoke. How much you inhale and how much nicotine is in the cigarette both affect the amount. People also process nicotine differently depending on their genetics.
Generally, nicotine will leave your blood within one to three days after you stop using tobacco. Cotinine will be gone after 1-10 days. After three to four days of stopping tobacco products, no nicotine or cotinine will be detected in your urine.
If you smoke menthol cigarettes or breathe in secondhand menthol smoke, cotinine may stay in your urine longer.
A saliva test is considered the most sensitive way to detect cotinine — it can detect it for up to four days. Hair testing is a reliable way to figure out long-term use of tobacco products and can be very accurate for as long as one to three months after you stop using tobacco. It can even detect nicotine for up to 12 months.
What Do Your Nicotine Test Results Mean?
If you have moderate levels of nicotine, it might mean you used tobacco and stopped about two to three weeks before the test.
It’s possible for people who don’t use tobacco to test positive for a low level of nicotine if they’re exposed to tobacco smoke in their surroundings.
If the test doesn’t detect any nicotine or cotinine in your system (or it detects very low levels), it likely means you don’t use tobacco and haven’t breathed in smoke in your environment. Or, it may mean you were once a tobacco user, but you’ve given up tobacco and nicotine products for several weeks.
Nicotine Test FAQs
Here are some commonly asked questions about nicotine testing.
How can I pass my nicotine test?
To pass your nicotine test, don’t use nicotine products such as vapes or cigarettes. Avoid places where you could be exposed to secondhand smoke, especially a few days before the test.
What is the cost of a nicotine test?
The cost of a nicotine test depends on the type of test, such as hair, blood, urine, or saliva. At-home test kits range from $5 to $20.
How can I test for nicotine at home?
To test for nicotine at home, you’ll need to buy an at-home nicotine test. You can usually find these online or at a pharmacy.
