How is the nicotine test cotinine test used?
Nicotine or its primary metabolite, cotinine are most often tested to evaluate tobacco use. Long term use of tobacco products can increase the risk of developing many diseases including lung cancer, COPD, stroke, heart disease, and respiratory infections, or exacerbate asthma, and blood clot formation. In pregnant women, smoking can retard fetal growth and lead to low birth weight babies. Because use of tobacco products can greatly affect the health of individuals, companies may use nicotine/cotinine testing to evaluate prospective employees for tobacco use. Many health and life insurance companies test applicants for nicotine or cotinine as well. Nicotine and cotinine can both be measured qualitatively or quantitatively. Quantitative testing can help distinguish between active smokers, tobacco users who have recently quit, non-tobacco-users who have been exposed to significant environmental tobacco smoke, and non-users who have not been exposed. Cotinine may also be measured in saliva
