Nicotine and Metabolite Urine Test, Quantitative, Random

Measurement of nicotine and its metabolites to monitor success of smoking cessation programs, detect passive exposure, and evaluate nontobacco nicotine exposure.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of death in the United States. Nicotine, coadministered in tobacco products such as cigarettes, pipe, cigar, or chew, is an addicting substance that causes individuals to continue use of tobacco despite concerted efforts to quit. Nicotine stimulates dopamine release and increases dopamine concentration in the nucleus accumbens, a mechanism that is thought to be the basis for addiction for drugs of abuse.

 Nicotine is rapidly metabolized in the liver to cotinine, exhibiting an elimination half-life of 2 hours. Cotinine exhibits an apparent elimination half-life of 15 hours. Patients using tobacco products excrete nicotine in urine in the concentration range of 1,000 to 5,000 ng/mL. Cotinine accumulates in urine in proportion to dose and hepatic metabolism (which is genetically determined); most tobacco users excrete cotinine in the range of 1,000 to 8,000 ng/mL. Urine concentrations of nicotine and metabolites in these ranges indicate the subject is using tobacco or is receiving high-dose nicotine patch therapy.

 In addition to nicotine and metabolites, tobacco products also contain other alkaloids that can serve as unique markers of tobacco use. Two such markers are anabasine and nornicotine. Anabasine is present in tobacco products, but not nicotine replacement therapies. Nornicotine is present as an alkaloid in tobacco products and as a metabolite of nicotine. The presence of anabasine greater then 10 ng/mL or nornicotine greater then 30 ng/mL in urine indicates current tobacco use, irrespective of whether the subject is on nicotine replacement therapy. The presence of nornicotine without anabasine is consistent with use of nicotine replacement products. Heavy tobacco users who abstain from tobacco for 2 weeks exhibit urine nicotine values below 30 ng/mL, cotinine values below 50 ng/mL, anabasine levels below 2 ng/mL, and nornicotine levels below 2 ng/mL.