Stopped Smoking. How Long Does Cotinine Stay In Blood System?

Posted on Mon, 18 Feb 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 Answered on

Sat, 9 Mar 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : how long does cotinine stay in your blood system. I have quit smoking and my company is now doing cotinine blood test for health insurance. We have our blood draw in 40 days should I be good to be considered a non smoker?

Answered by Dr. Sundar Gnanavel (5 minutes later)

Hello.......
Thanks for your query. Cotinine does not stay in your blood system beyond 14-15 days considering the half life of cotinine that is 1.5 days. Hence 40 days is safe enough to pass the health insurance test.
Regards
Dr Sundar
Addiction medicine specialist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar