Sometimes it is necessary to determine if a person is using a tobacco or nicotine-containing product. A common situation is a person who has insurance intended for nonsmokers.
Chemicals that can be measured:
(1) nicotine
(2) cotinine (a nicotine metabolite)
(3) nornicotine (a nicotine metabolite and tobacco alkaloid)
(4) anabasine (a tobacco alkaloid)
(5) anatabine (a tobacco alkaloid)
Nicotine has a short half-life in serum (less than 1 hour in a smoker, about 1.3 hours in a nonsmoker) so it may be absent after a few hours since the last use.
The other chemicals have longer serum half-lives (from 10 to 20 hours) so they can be detected for a longer period.
Testing for the alkaloids in urine allows for expanded detection.
Chemical
Mean Half-Life (Hours) in Urine
Range (Hours)
cotinine
19.5
10.2 to 37.5
nornicotine
11.6
6.4 to 26.6
anabasine
15.9
10.1 to 26.8
anatabine
9.6
5.8 to 15.4
nicotine
11.2
3.7 to 30.7
The presence of nicotine metabolites argues against passive exposure.
Anabasine and anatabine are not included in nicotine-replacement products, so their presence indicates continued tobacco use.
Hair testing can provide retrospective information but must be interpreted carefully.
To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.
