How Long Does Nicotine Last?

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Updated on March 29, 2023

Medically reviewed by

Someone putting out a cigarette — krisanapong detraphiphat / Getty Images

Nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in all tobacco products, including cigarettes, pipes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and snuff. E-cigarettes and vapes contain nicotine as well. While nicotine is not considered a controlled substance, it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 in the United States, with some states raising the minimum age to 21.

Your body breaks nicotine down into many chemicals, including cotinine, which can be detected in certain drug tests. Cotinine is only found in your body if you have processed nicotine and, in general, stays in the body longer than nicotine itself.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your System?

Urine: Three to 20 days
Blood: 48 hours to 21 days
Saliva: 24 hours to 14 days
Hair: Up to 90 days

How Long Does It Take to Feel Effects?

Nicotine acts quickly in the body. After taking a puff from your cigarette, the substance enters the bloodstream and makes it to the brain within 20 seconds.

The amount of nicotine that enters the body varies based on how the drug is administered. For instance, chewing or snorting nicotine-containing products can cause more of the substance to be released than if it is smoked.

Nicotine is a stimulant. After it's taken, people quickly experience a surge in adrenaline that causes blood pressure and heart rate to go up. Even though the substance actually increases central nervous system activity, smokers often experience paradoxical feelings of relaxation.

Nicotine also increases the levels of a brain chemical called dopamine. This can improve mood and increase feelings of pleasure.

Half-Life of Nicotine

Nicotine has a half-life of about two hours. A drug's half-life is the amount of time it takes for half of the dosage administered to be eliminated from the body.

When nicotine is smoked as a cigarette or inhaled from another tobacco product, it is mostly absorbed through the lungs. Less often, nicotine is absorbed through mouth and throat membranes. If you chew tobacco or use nicotine gum, lozenges, or patches, nicotine can also be absorbed in your gastrointestinal tract or skin.

Nicotine is mainly metabolized in the liver, but also in the lungs and kidneys. It is primarily excreted by the kidneys via urine, with some nicotine being excreted in the feces. Nicotine can also be found in saliva and hair.

As your body metabolizes nicotine, liver enzymes break this drug down into metabolites that include cotinine. Nicotine tests usually look for cotinine rather than nicotine itself.

Urine

The amount of cotinine in your urine will vary depending on the amount and frequency of nicotine use. On average, nicotine shows in the urine for about three days. Although, regular smokers may have detectable levels for as long as 20 days.

Blood

Nicotine shows up in blood tests, as do its metabolites, including cotinine and anabasine. Nicotine itself may be present in the blood for only 48 hours, while cotinine may be detectable for up to three weeks. After blood is drawn in a lab, results can take from two to 10 days.

Saliva

Nicotine stays in your saliva for about 24 hours, making it detectable with saliva tests taken during this time. Cotinine can be detected for up to seven days after it was last used or up to 14 days in heavy smokers. To perform this test, a technician swabs the inside of your mouth and tests oral fluids for nicotine. Results can take 24 to 72 hours.

Dry mouth or excessive salivation are two issues that can sometimes pose problems with collecting a saliva sample.

Hair

As with other substances,hair follicle testing can detect nicotine for much longer periods of time. This method tends to be less common, however, because it is usually more expensive. The test requires the removal of a small amount of hair that is tested for repeated nicotine use over the last 90 days. Results typically take one to five days.

False Positive Testing

A compound called thiocyanate—which is found in some medications and foods such as broccoli, garlic, radishes, almonds, and cabbage—can result in a false positive blood test result. Vegetarians may have elevated levels of this substance in their blood due to increased consumption of thiocyanate-containing foods.

Exposure to secondhand smoke is usually not enough to trigger a false positive result. Although, being exposed to frequent or very high levels of secondhand smoke may cause someone to test positive for nicotine use.

One study involving 25 children who were living with a person who smokes found that all but one of the kids had a detectable cotinine level, with all of the children having a detectable level of nicotine on their hands.

Factors That Affect Detection Time

How long nicotine appears in your system at a detectable level depends largely on the type of test being used. And since each person's body processes nicotine differently, it is nearly impossible to determine a timeframe of detection with 100% confidence.

Factors that can affect how quickly your body gets nicotine out of your system include:

Age: As you get older, it becomes more difficult for your body to excrete nicotine. This enables it to stay in your system longer.
Body mass: Nicotine can be stored in fatty tissue. So, the more body fat you have, the longer nicotine may be detectable in your body.
Genetics: Research has found that a person's genetic makeup can impact their nicotine metabolism rate.
Hydration level: Drinking water can help speed up the secretion of nicotine.
Level of physical activity: The skin helps regulate the excretion of metabolic waste products. So, with increased sweating during physical activity comes increased excretion rates.
Type, frequency, and history of use: Nicotine accumulates in the body. The more you use, the longer it can take to leave.

Smoking vs. Vaping vs. Chewing

How nicotine is administered may have an impact on how much of it is delivered. One study that compared nicotine doses between heavy smokers and e-cigarette users found that vaping devices deliver nicotine at slightly lower levels than cigarettes.

Chew and dip tobacco, on the other hand, contains higher levels of nicotine than cigarettes. The exact amount absorbed (and therefore needs to be eliminated) can depend on the brand of tobacco, the acidity level of the product, and the amount chewed. Blood serum levels are about the same when comparing smokeless tobacco use to that of cigarettes.

How to Get Nicotine Out of Your System

The first step in getting nicotine out of your system and starting to detox from this substance is to completely stop using all products that contain it.

Once you stop using nicotine, there are some steps you can take that may speed up how quickly the drug is excreted from your system.

Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water can help remove nicotine and its metabolites from your body through urine.
Eat nutritious foods. Sticking to a healthful diet that includes plenty of antioxidant-containing foods may speed up how quickly nicotine is removed from your system. Foods high in antioxidants include several fruits and vegetables, almonds, sunflower seeds, salmon, and eggs.
Exercise. Regular physical activity can increase your metabolism and the rate at which the drug is processed and cleared from your body.

You may see products and herbal supplements marketed to speed up the nicotine elimination process. However, none of these have been verified or approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Symptoms of Overdose

Ingesting too much nicotine can result in nicotine poisoning. Nicotine tests may be performed if nicotine poisoning is suspected. Symptoms of nicotine poisoning can include:

Excessive salivation
Elevated blood pressure
Increase heart rate
Rapid breathing
Sweating
Nausea
Vomiting
Stomachache
Headache
Dizziness
Tremors
Confusion

Most nicotine poisoning cases have traditionally involved young children who got their hands on nicotine gum or patches. Although most cases are still in kids, adult cases are also now being reported more often due to e-cigarette use.

A spill of electronic nicotine solution (e-juice) can cause nicotine to be absorbed into the skin, which can also lead to poisoning.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) recommends the following safety tips for users of e-cigarettes:

Protect your skin when handling the products.
Keep e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine out of the reach of children.
Follow the disposal instructions on the label.
If someone has been exposed, call 1-800-222-1222 immediately.

Getting Help

While there are no easy, pain-free ways to kick your nicotine habit, there are plenty of resources to help you develop a solid smoking cessation plan.

Because nicotine can lead to physical and psychological dependence, stopping your use of the substance can result in withdrawal. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms may include:

Intense nicotine cravings
Fatigue
Headaches
Nausea
Increased hunger
Poor concentration
Irritability
Insomnia
Depression
Anxiety

These symptoms can be intense at first but decline in severity after three to five days. There are a number of smoking cessation treatments that can help you get through the withdrawal period and improve long-term abstinence. Nicotine-replacement therapy, such as the nicotine patch, can help you slowly reduce your nicotine intake and ease withdrawal symptoms.

Talk to your doctor for advice and assistance if you are ready to give up tobacco. You can also visit Smokefree.gov for smoking cessation programs, apps, and other resources.

12 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Selling tobacco products in retail stores.
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Dhavan P, Bassi S, Stigler MH, et al. Using salivary cotinine to validate self-reports of tobacco use by Indian youth living in low-income neighborhoods. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2011;12(10):2551-4.
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By Buddy T
Buddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website.

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