Nicotine Test Kits

Nicotine is an alkaloid poison in tobacco and is approved by the FDA for use in insecticides. It has many deleterious effects on human body and is a marker for cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco use including pipe smoking, tobacco chewing and cigar smoking.

Nicotine test kits measure cotinine, one of many metabolites or breakdown products of nicotine and is a good identifier of recent tobacco use.  Cotinine is measureable in the urine and saliva for 4-7 days following the last use of tobacco depending on the test deployed and the rate of nicotine metabolism by the person being tested. Since the level of cotinine is proportionate to the amount of exposure to tobacco, it is a valid indicator of tobacco exposure including passive or secondhand exposure. Cotinine can be detected in hair for up to 90 days and in some cases up to 6 months following the last tobacco use.  

Nicotine test kits are sometimes used as part of pre-employment screening by some organizations and agencies that prefer non-smoking employees and are used by concerned parents to monitor adolescents for tobacco use and determine children’s second hand tobacco exposure.  Additionally some coaches and trainers use nicotine test kits to test athletes.     

TobacAlert is the only at home instant test kit that gives a quantitative determination of a person's level of exposure to tobacco products whether tobacco use is in the form of cigarettes, pipes, chewing tobacco or cigars. Since the test measures the actual concentration of cotinine in the urine and has an interpretive scale based on that concentration, the actual test results can be used to determine whether not the person tested as an actual tobacco user or is exposed passively or secondhand. TobacAlert is for non-medical use and not intended to diagnose treat or prevent any disease or medical condition but can be integrated into a quit smoking rehabilitation plan to provide encouragement and a deterrent to relapse. 

TobacAlert - Quantitative Instant Urine Nicotine Test - Detects Second Hand Smoke

Although urine is the preferred specimen for nicotine testing, one of the disadvantages is that the specimen can be adulterated or substituted to give a false negative test for an individual who is actually using tobacco at the time tested. If there is concern that someone tested has tampered with the specimen in such a way to avoid being detected as a smoker or other form of tobacco user deploying one of the nicotine test kits which measures cotinine in saliva is an option. The disadvantage is measuring cotinine in saliva however is that the concentration of the metabolite is much less than in urine where it is concentrated 10 times higher by the kidney. As a result the saliva test is less sensitive and cannot be used as a true quantitative test to determine the level of exposure to the same degree as the TobacAlert test kit.  

TobacAlert - Quantitative Instant Saliva Nicotine Test - Detects Second Hand Smoke

A urine and saliva nicotine test kit is also available for professional use by doctors and other healthcare providers.

NicAlert - Quantitative Instant Urine Professional Nicotine Test + Second Hand S

It must be pointed out that cotinine is produced in the body whether the nicotine is derived from tobacco use or is introduced in the form of one of the nicotine containing products designed to help quit smoking. Therefore, utilizing nicotine testing to monitor one who is going through quit smoking rehabilitation will not distinguish between actual tobacco use and use of a nicotine containing quit smoking product, but a positive test will indicate that nicotine addiction and nicotine use is still a problem, because the goal of stopping smoking is not to substitute a smoking nicotine addition with a nicotine addiction in the form of chewing gum, an inhaler, a lozenge, nasal spray or a patch.