Cotinine is a metabolic of nicotine, used to measure the grade of tobacco smoking. According to National Survey On Drug Use 2007, overall 68 million people abuse tobacco, and more than 3.5 million teens abuse tobacco between 12-17 years. Detection of smoke levels present in the body is possible with help of Cotinine test. Cotinine levels describe the level of smoke in the body.

Cotinine abuse
Cotinine abuse is similar to any illicit drug abuse. Cotinine is major metabolite of nicotine. Cotinine is present in nicotine, and smoked in cigarettes, chewed, and sniffed. When nicotine is metabolized, it gradually builds the level of cotinine in the body of both habitual smokers, and regular smokers. This drug is popular among teens because it is available in colorful packages with flavor choices to abuse. Cotinine itself is not harmful but nicotine is harmful, and has many adverse effects on the health of the abuser.

Test for cotinine
Cotinine effects are present in body for 20 hours from the time of consumption. Cotinine levels can be detected using various methods like gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Cotinine can be detectable from days to one week after tobacco abuse. Cigarette preference, menthol, puff size, and many other factors influence the detection period of cotinine using different testing types. Different persons have different levels of cotinine in the body with regular smoking. One way to reduce the cotinine levels in the body is to stop smoking.

Immunoassay technology used for detecting illicit drugs, can detect cotinine substance in body. Detection period of cotinine from specimen is four days after consumption. Cotinine retains in the blood for long period after consumption through smoking. There are many methods used for detecting cotinine. One of the preferred method is urine drug testing. Cotinine testing through saliva drug testing is difficult both in terms of collecting the specimen as well as drug detection. Using testing kits, testing process of cotinine is simple, and easy to perform at home. Often, lab confirmation tests are used to test cotinine levels for accurate results.

The above information gives you an overview about cotinine abuse, and testing methods. Cotinine drug testing makes it easier to detect presence of nicotine, and its metabolism presence in body.

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