How long does it take to completely remove nicotine from the body?

Many smokers are sure that after the taste of the cigarette is gone, all the substances obtained from smoking it immediately leave the body. This is quite naive, since even after a person again felt a craving for tobacco, the entire set of not the most useful elements remained in the body. We will answer questions about where it accumulates, how long it takes for nicotine to disappear, and how it can be detected through medical tests.

Content:

1. Metabolism of a substance
2. Blood analysis
3. Analysis of urine
4. Factors influencing the time of removal of nicotine from the body 4.1. Medicines that change the rate of elimination of tobacco products
5. How to speed up the elimination of nicotine from the body

When smoking, some of the nicotine is retained in the blood and tissues. It is thanks to this that doctors can conduct tests and determine whether the patient smokes or not. During such tests, various biological fluids are used - urine, blood, saliva. Sometimes doctors take samples of hair and even nails for examination. Let's consider what time it takes to completely remove nicotine from the body and how you can influence this process.

What medications will help?

The body requires 6-8 hours to get rid of the nicotine content obtained from smoking a cigarette.

But it is not able to completely remove nicotine as traces remain for about thirty days. You will have to look for natural products that clean the entire system.

Natural products work better than expected:

1. The best way to cleanse your blood of nicotine is to drink carrot juice. It cleanses the blood and makes it get rid of harmful substances. Every day, after waking up, drink as much water as possible.
2. Chilli. Peppers have capsaicin, which speeds up metabolic processes and releases more nicotine during sweating. Capsaicin helps the kidneys work better and cleanse the blood. Another advantage of the substance is the expansion of arterial walls for better blood circulation. It reduces high blood pressure after smoking.
3. Grapefruit juice. It has been clinically proven to increase the rate at which the kidneys remove nicotine from the blood. Study participants drank grapefruit juice and their kidneys eliminated nicotine 88% faster. Diluted grapefruit juice increased nicotine removal rates by 78%.
4. Kiwi. The fruit will relieve nicotine. Kiwi is a rich supply of vitamins A, C and E. When smoking, these vitamins disappear.

Metabolism of a substance

When smoking, approximately 10% of the nicotine contained in a tobacco product is absorbed into the systemic circulation. An interesting fact is that the compound penetrates not only through the lungs, but also through the skin and mucous membranes. Therefore, you don’t need to think that only cigarettes are harmful. Snuff and chewing tobacco also cause significant damage to health.

Exactly how much of the toxic component lingers in the smoker’s body directly depends on:

• type and quality of tobacco products used;
• presence of a cigarette filter;
• method of introducing the component.

It has been established that when using snuff and breathing tobacco, the absorption of harmful substances is much higher than with standard smoking. Approximately 2 hours after smoking a cigarette, half of the nicotine “evaporates.” This suggests that the half-life of the named component is 2 hours. During this time period, the alkaloid stops influencing the functioning of the nervous system - the relaxation effect goes away, and the desire to smoke again arises.

The liver is responsible for the metabolism of smoking carcinogens. It processes and neutralizes them. As a result, about twenty different nicotine metabolites can be counted in liver cells. And each of them is harmful to health.

Cotinine remains the longest of all breakdown products . That is why almost all modern smoking tests are aimed at determining it. In order for it to be completely eliminated, two weeks must pass between smoking the last cigarette and the day of the test. But, if a person does not smoke on a regular basis, but only occasionally, then already four days after smoking a cigarette, not a single test will be able to detect cotinine in biological media.

In the nail plate and hair, decay products linger for a very long time. But narcologists rarely use these samples in their work. This is due to the high cost of such research.

Impact on pressure or consequences

Most believe that the carcinogens and hazardous materials in a cigarette come from other compounds and chemicals; nicotine itself is no less dangerous.

There are many health effects of nicotine:

• High blood pressure;
• Increased heart rate immediately after smoking;
• High risk of heart disease;

A tobacco smoker suspects harm to the lungs, but not everyone knows how quickly blood vessels become contaminated. How long will it take for the coronary arteries, which supply the life of the heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients, to be 100% clogged?

When this happens, a heart attack occurs. The part of the heart muscle that receives oxygen from a particular coronary artery suffocates and dies.

Vessels supply blood to both the heart and brain. Damage is caused to every vessel associated with hearing and the blood supply to the skin. Wrinkles, hair loss, and loss of teeth appear.

Factors influencing the time it takes for nicotine to be eliminated from the body

From the above information it becomes clear that:

• cotinine is detectable within two weeks;
• Nicotine can be detected on the first day after smoking.

But these terms can change - increase or, conversely, decrease. Exactly how long the period of nicotine removal from the body will be depends on:

• 
  smoking frequency;

• quality of tobacco products;
• number of cigarettes smoked per day;
• strength of the tobacco product;
• method of using tobacco;
• age and health status of the person;
• genetic and racial characteristics;
• functioning of the kidneys and liver.

It has been noticed that in people over 60-65 years of age, cleansing occurs more slowly. The same can be said for patients with severe kidney disease, liver disease, blacks and Asians. The female body is freed from smoking poisons faster than the male body.

Nicotine leaves the human body through:

• lungs;
• saliva;
• urine;
• skin.

The main burden during its neutralization and “disposal” falls on the kidneys. They have to transform waste products so that they can penetrate into urine. Very often, in case of kidney diseases, trace residues of alkaloids are found unchanged in the urine.

It also happens that smokers turn out to be children who have just recently been born. This is possible if a breastfeeding woman smokes. Then the toxic component, along with the milk, penetrates into the children's bloodstream . It turns out that the mother is poisoning not only herself, but also the newborn.

Medicines that change the rate of elimination of tobacco products

If a smoker takes certain medications, his metabolic rate may change. Thus, “Rifampicin” and “Phenobarbital” accelerate the elimination of the tobacco component, while “Ketoconazole” and “Amplodipine”, on the contrary, reduce it. People who smoke should take this into account so as not to harm their health even more.

Cleansing the body with food

Changing your diet will speed up metabolic processes and remove unnecessary substances. Fried and fatty foods should be excluded from the menu. You need to eat the right foods:

• Cabbage. Improves digestion processes, stimulates the production of gastric juice. You can eat both fresh and sauerkraut - it contains a large amount of vitamin C, which is necessary for the good functioning of the immune system.
• Lemon. Belongs to the group of antioxidants, stimulates metabolic processes.
• Carrot. Contains carotene, accelerates the process of liberating the body from toxins.

• Pomegranate. One of the healthiest products for blood. Stimulates the formation of new blood cells, improves blood flow. It is also an antioxidant and helps prolong youth.
• Ginger. It has a beneficial effect on the condition of the myocardium and blood vessels, reducing the risks of cardiac pathologies.
• Spinach. Contains vitamin C and folic acid. Needed for the functioning of the immune and nervous systems.
• Orange. Another source of vitamin C. It is recommended to include orange and carrot salad in your diet.
• Broccoli. Acts as a regulator of acid-base balance. It contains vitamin B, an essential component for the functioning of the brain and nervous system.
• Cranberry – its content of vitamin PP makes it an essential part of a smoker’s diet. This product helps to cope with even severe forms of intoxication.

This diet will help eliminate severe withdrawal symptoms.

How to speed up the elimination of nicotine from the body

There are ways to help you get rid of nicotine metabolites faster. Among them:

• Drinking large amounts of liquid. Regular drinking water, vegetable and fruit juices are suitable. You can also use decoctions of medicinal herbs that exhibit diuretic properties.
• Visiting the sauna, bathhouse. During paired procedures, many harmful compounds are eliminated along with sweat, including those released during smoking. If you are not prone to arterial hypertension, you can also take a hot bath.
• Increasing your level of physical activity. If you start running, jumping, walking quickly, the speed of metabolic processes will increase and sweating will increase. This will create the conditions for a more active detox.
• Taking medications that normalize the functioning of the kidneys and liver. In the presence of acute and chronic diseases of these organs, toxic compounds are neutralized more slowly.

You should not try to hide the fact of smoking before undergoing medical tests. It is much wiser to give up cigarettes forever. If you can’t do this on your own, you should seek help from doctors at a drug treatment clinic. They will create an effective therapeutic program that will definitely help.

How does a smoker feel when nicotine comes out?

Symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include: irritability, sleep disturbances, intense cravings, depression, anxiety and increased appetite. Peak symptoms disappear within a few weeks. Sometimes nicotine withdrawal symptoms take longer.

Nicotine withdrawal affects behavioral factors and leads to severe withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine replacement therapy includes the use of chewing gum, patches and inhalers.

They reduce the pharmacological aspects of withdrawal. Psychological therapy helps relieve withdrawal symptoms and urges to start smoking again.

Literature:

1. Tobacco smoking: harm, ways to quit [Electronic resource] / Ovchinnikov B.V., Dyakonov I.F., Zobnev V.M., Dyakonova T.I.; under general ed. V. K. Shamrey. – St. Petersburg: SpetsLit, 2012. – 45 p.
2. Chemistry of tobacco and shag / A. A. Shmuk, full member of the All. acad. agricultural Sciences named after V.I. Lenin. - Moscow ; Leningrad: Pishchepromizdat, 1938 (M.: 11 type. MOOMP). – 544 p.
3. Organic chemistry: textbook. aid for students of education. institutions prof. education / L. M. Pustovalova. - Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 2005 (JSC Book). – 317 p.