Urine Test for Nicotine - More Information

The nicotine urine test, also known as a urine test for nicotine levels, measures the cotinine and nicotine urine levels.

Nicotine is a compound typically harvested from the tobacco plant. Nicotine works on various receptors and reaches the brain quickly after being absorbed. Nicotine use can lead to a sense of well-being and can improve mental focus in addition to suppressing appetite. An addictive substance, nicotine has stimulant properties and most commonly enters the body through smoking tobacco although it can be absorbed via other routes such as patches, sprays and gums. Nicotine has been linked to problems during pregnancy and birth defects. Nicotine toxicity can occur although it rarely occurs just from smoking tobacco.

Nicotine and cotinine exist in the body after smoking. This urine nicotine test is helpful in tracking people who are engaged with a smoking cessation program. Additionally, this nicotine urine test can detect passive exposure to smoke and exposure to other sources of nicotine. The cutoff value for this particular nicotine urine test is set high enough that second hand smoke exposure will not trigger a positive test. If you are looking for a more detailed nicotine urine test, the nicotine urine metabolite test also measures the nicotine metabolite levels. Nicotine testing is generally not part of standard drug tests which screen for more generic medications and substances of abuse.

To get a nicotine urine test near you, simply order online and get your urine tested at the local Quest Diagnostics lab. Once your urine nicotine lab results are ready, they will be available for download. As can be seen on the sample nicotine urine lab report above, the cotinine and nicotine urine levels will be reported as <2 if they are not detected when compared against the reference ranges provided by the lab.