Am J Psychiat 152 : 453455 Decina P, Caracci G, Sandik R, Berman W, Mukherjee S, Scapicchio P
Why Your Body Holds Onto Nicotine (And Why It Matters) The Two-Phase Problem Nobody Explains When you use nicotinewhether from cigarettes, vapes, pouches, or gumyour body immediately begins a two-phase process: Phase 1: Nicotine Processing (1-4 hours) Nicotine hits your bloodstream Half-life of 1-2 hours (50% gone) Liver converts it to cotinine You feel the effects wearing off Phase 2: Cotinine Clearance (Days to Weeks) Cotinine half-life: 16-20 hours Stores in fat cells, organs, and hair What drug tests actually measure Determines your "clean" timeline The Metabolite That Ruins Everything: Cotinine Here's the plot twist: nicotine tests don't test for nicotine
You must avoid all other drinks, including coffee, tea, juice, and soda, as they can significantly skew readings for glucose, cholesterol, and other important health markers
In each group, 10 photomicrographies were selected in an area of 288815.2563 m 2 , and the smallest diameter of 10 fibers per field was measured