How long does nicotine stay in your system?

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the family of night shade plants. Nicotine was discovered long ago and the leaves were used by early age people for smoking and chewing. It had medicinal uses too, it was used to protect from bubonic plague in middle ages.  The nicotine is also available in the tobacco plants. The dry tobacco leaves contains 0.6 to 3 percent of nicotine. When consumed nicotine in smaller amounts, one can get easily addicted as it gives stimulant effects in mammals. As a result tobacco smoking is one example for addiction.

Nicotine in body

Nicotine is easily available in the form of cigarettes. Each cigarette contains up to 10 mg of nicotine. When smoked 1 to 2 mg of nicotine is absorbed by the body. After the smoke from tobacco is inhaled, nicotine is easily absorbed in the mouth, nose, and lungs and enters the blood stream. It gives immediate effects as it stimulates the hormone production that causes increased heart rate, blood pressure. Nicotine can also be taken in the form of chewing gums; in this case it enters the blood stream via the skin and gastrovascular tract.

The effects of nicotine that leads to addiction is, it makes the smokers to feel relaxed, calmer, stress free, relieving pain and anxiety. When taken more dosages of nicotine it is sedative. Slowly this substance leads to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and heart disorders. Also thyroid, pituitary, sex and adrenal hormones are affected.

One can easily get addicted to smoking of nicotine. But withdrawal is very difficult as one tends to bounce back to smoking within a week. The withdrawal effects are:

·         Very strong cravings for nicotine smoking

·         Insomnia

·         Increased appetite

·         Disturbances in sleeping

·         Anger

·         Irritation

·         Frustration

·         Gastrointestinal issues

·         Depression

·         Restlessness

·         Anxiety

Let us see how long nicotine can stay in human body. The duration of nicotine staying in one’s body depends on the amount and from how long one has the habit of smoking. The nicotine vanishes from the body after smoking. The half-life of nicotine is around 1 to 2 hours in the body. The average frame is it can stay up to 48 hours. Passive smokers can in house the nicotine for longer duration.

Drug test can show even the smallest amount of nicotine in the body. In blood tests nicotine can be detected even after 1 – 3 days after lastly taken nicotine containing substance. The standard test for nicotine detection is the urine test; this is detectable for 3 to 4 days of nicotine in the body. Also this test gives positive results for passive smokers up to 20 days. Even saliva, hair tests are conducted to detect the drug in the body.