A healthy immune system equals health, vitality, and life so this article will show you how to boost your immune system if you’re a smoker or ex-smoker.

The immune system is a hard-working complex function that acts as a shield against toxins, viruses, and disease. It’s in constant communication with every part of your body and it’s everywhere: on the skin, and the digestive, endocrine, and respiratory systems.

Now with the coronavirus epidemic, boosting our immune system is a priority.

Because there’s no cure yet; so your only line of defense against COVID-19 is your immune system.

So whether you have underlying health conditions or you’re healthy, the tips below will help you improve your immune system. For best results, do them consistently. 

How to Boost your Immune System by Changing Habits

1. Stop Smoking

The most important thing you can do to strengthen your immune system is to quit smoking. This is the one thing that can hinder or accelerate all your other efforts. 

It’s a long-known fact that smokers have compromised immune system and smoking increases the risk of immune and autoimmune disorders (conditions where the immune system attacks the body’s healthy cells)

Smoking also causes inflammation, which is your immune system trying to protect you against the chemicals in your cigarettes.

Does vaping weaken your immune system?

Yes.

Research shows vaping is not a good alternative for numerous reasons.

• Vaping is suppressing your immune system’s response at the gene level as much or even more than smoking
• causes inflammation
• harms lung cells preventing you from fighting a respiratory infection
• contains acrolein. A herbicide linked to lung injury, COPD, asthma and lung cancer
• changes your lung biology, even if it’s occasional or second hand vaping

Think about it like this. It’s hard for your immune system to protect you against the chemicals in your cigarettes and against the virus. So give your immune system a break by quitting smoking.

If you want to know more reasons why you need to be smoke-free during the coronavirus epidemic, check this video.

2. Reduce Alcohol

Try and reduce alcohol as much as you can to improve your immune system. 

Chronic alcohol consumption, as well as short-term binge drinking, can disrupt the function of the innate immune system making it hard to defend against infection. Also, it can contribute to organ damage.

Alcohol alters the gut microbiome and disrupts communication between the organisms in the gut and the intestinal immune system. On top of that, it can contribute to pneumonia, and it’s linked to pulmonary diseases ( such as tuberculosis, respiratory syncytial virus, and ARDS.). This happens because it prevents the immune cells and epithelia from working properly and the cilia in your airways from clearing toxins. 

Researches say “Often, the alcohol-provoked lung damage goes undetected until a second insult, such as a respiratory infection, leads to more severe lung diseases than those seen in nondrinkers.”

Feelings of stress and anxiety may increase during quarantine, but “stress that’s not managed properly can actually lower your innate immune system”, said Dr. Zoe Vlamaki, Consultant General and Breast Surgeon at NHS.

So how can you manage emotions like stress and anxiety?

This, of course, does not include smoking. Smoking is a way to suppress emotions not manage them, which means they will resurface sooner or later. A healthy and effective way to manage your emotions is by meditating.

Meditation can reduce stress and the stress hormone cortisol that prevents the immune system from working properly. 

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Producing too much cortisol lowers the antibody IgA that lines the respiratory system and gut and protects you against pathogens. Research shows that meditation, even if it’s not too long, is boosting your immune system by increasing your IgA levels.

4. Don’t Dwell on Angry Feelings

Did you know that feeling angry weakens your immune system?

Our emotions affect our immune system and vice versa.

And feeling angry affects the body in many ways: it increases your heart rate and it releases cortisol.

Unfortunately, too much cortisol can impair the immune system and research shows that people who tend to be angry are more likely to get colds, flu infections, arthritis and asthma and also delay wounds from healing.

Of course, you can’t avoid feeling angry, and anger is not always bad. Sometimes it can be a warning sign that you need to make some changes in your life and the way you communicate. 

What you can do, though, is tune in to a different, helpful, emotion as soon as you notice you’re feeling angry. An emotion you can tune into is gratitude. You can’t feel angry and grateful at the same time. I show you how in this video.

5. Cut Off Refined Sugar

Eliminate refined sugar from your diet to strengthen your innate immune system.

Some examples of refined sugar are: 

• cookies
• cakes
• pastries
• white bread, pasta, crackers.
• soda, sports drinks, pre-made cold drinks

Refined sugar interferes with your hormones, metabolism and immune system. It can impair the function of your white cells and increase inflammation, which does not let your immune system work properly to fight infections. 

It also causes insulin resistance that leads to type 2 diabetes which in turn, impairs the immune system. 

And it impacts your adrenal glands, causing them to produce cortisol; the hormone that suppresses the innate immune system.

If you need to eat something sweet go for unrefined sugars such as honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, coconut sugar, fruit, date sugar.

6. Prioritize Sleep

Lack of sleep can activate your inflammatory immune response.

When you’re sleep deprived, some of your body’s immune cells, called T-cells, don’t work as well.

According to the Sleep Foundation, when you don’t sleep enough your body produces fewer cytokines. Cytokine is a protein that makes your immune system function.

7. Do Intermittent fasting

If your health allows it, fast 12-18 hours daily between your meals, drinking only water. 

Fasting can help the immune system and research on mice showed that fasting for 2-3 days, can reboot the entire immune system.

The reason fasting helps, is that it lowers white blood cell counts which trigger the immune system to produce more white cells, says Valter Longo the research author.  

8. Exercise

Exercise helps your mind and body in every way by regulating mood, weight, cardiovascular health, lung health and more. In addition, it reduces cigarette cravings by releasing endorphins.

But that’s not all. Moderate workouts can boost your immune system too and limit or delay immunological aging.

Epidemiologic studies have shown that regular physical activity is linked to decreased mortality, pneumonia, and inflammation. Exercise also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that become greater over time.

How to Boost your Immune System through Nutrition

9. Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 supports the biochemical functions of the immune system. Research shows that deficiency in vitamin B6 can impact the immune system and that it’s needed for optimal immune function, especially when you’re older.

You can find vitamin B6 in:

• pork
• poultry (chicken, turkey)
• fish
• bread
• wholegrain cereals (oatmeal, brown rice)
• eggs
• vegetables
• soya beans
• peanuts
• milk
• potatoes

10. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is probably the best thing you can consume to help your immune system.

Lack of vitamin C can harm the immune function and increase how often and for how long you get sick. 

Smokers tend to have vitamin C deficiency, so upping your intake may be necessary.

Taking sufficient vitamin C can protect you against infectious diseases. Plus, it keeps your cells, skin, blood vessels and bones healthy and it can help wounds heal faster.

How to strengthen your immune system with vitamin C:

• oranges and orange juice
• red and green peppers
• strawberries
• spinach
• kale
• blackcurrants
• broccoli
• brussels sprouts
• potatoes

If you wish to take vitamin C supplements prefer whole vitamin C instead of absorbic acid. 

11. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential for calcium and bone homeostasis as well as the immune system function. 

The deficiency of vitamin D is linked to more frequent infections as well as autoimmune disease. 

How to boost your immune system with vitamin D:

• direct sunlight exposure on the skin
• oily fish – salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel
• red meat
• liver
• egg yolks

12. Zinc

Zinc helps the immune system by affecting neutrophils, NK cells, and cells related to innate immunity.

Research also shows that the elder population taking zinc supplements may be less likely to experience infections.

Zinc also has antioxidant properties, it helps in making new cells and enzymes, process nutrients from food and heals wounds.

How to improve your immune system with zinc:

• meat
• shellfish
• dairy foods 
• bread
• wheatgerm

13. Manuka Honey

Manuka honey is proven to boost a weak immune system, decrease inflammation and fight bacteria.

Research shows that it also promotes oral health, can heal ulcers and wounds and it’s considered a natural cancer “vaccine”.

14. Ginseng 

Ginseng can strengthen the immune system.

For example, a study found that people who took ginseng after having curative surgery could have up to a 35% higher chance of living disease-free for five years and up to a 38% higher survival rate compared to those not taking it.

Ginseng extract can also enhance the effect of vaccinations against diseases like influenza.

15. Probiotics

70-80% of the immune system cells are in the gut, or else, your “second brain”.

So having a healthier gut has a direct effect on your immune system and can stop you from getting sick, getting infections, allergies or autoimmune disease. 

To improve your gut flora, you can take probiotics preferably coming in natural forms like those found in fermented foods, milk, and milk products. 

Harvard Health suggests yogurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi, sourdough bread, and some cheeses. 

16. Green Tea

Adding green tea to your diet can build the immune system up.  Be careful not to drink it late in the evening because it has low levels of caffeine and may affect your sleep.

Green tea can also help prevent and treat diseases such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and infections.

Green tea contains flavonoids, that play a big role in the function of the respiratory immune system and can reduce the risk of getting a cold.

Note: This is not medical advice. Please ask your doctor before changing your nutrition or taking supplements.

What is coronavirus COVID-19?

Coronaviruses are a group of related viruses that cause diseases and respiratory infections that can be mild or lethal. 

One of the lethal ones is COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019). This infectious virus has now become a global epidemic, according to the World Health Organization. 

Unfortunately, scientists are still not sure if recovering from the virus makes you immune to it or if you can be infected again.

Symptoms of COVID-19

Common symptoms

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

Less common symptoms

• Muscle pain
• Sore throat
• Mucus or phlegm (sputum) production

Is it serious?

The majority of those infected have mild symptoms. But some progress to severe pneumonia, multi-organ failure, and death. 

A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association examined the cases in China. They found that 80% of those diagnosed had moderate symptoms and 20% experienced severe life-threatening symptoms.

Those who are the most susceptible to these severe symptoms:

• Are of advanced age. “As people increase in age from their 40s to 80s, we’re seeing mortality increase.”, says Michael Mina, MD, PhD; assistant professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

• Have weaker or compromised lungs or immune system.

• Have underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes,  transplant history and lung disease like COPD or emphysema.

Are Smokers More Susceptible to COVID – 19?

Unfortunately, smoking harms the immune system, which makes your body less able to fight off disease and infection.

Smoking tobacco also increases inflammation in the body and harms the lungs. 

That’s why coronavirus is more dangerous for smokers, said Professor Robert Dingwall, a public health expert at Nottingham Trent University.

Professor Chris Whitty, epidemiologist and Chief Medical Officer for England recommends smokers quit.

“I might add one slight rider to that which is for most respiratory infections, you worry about people who smoke a bit more. They’re more likely to get it and their lung immune system is less good. To be clear on smokers, my recommendation is that they stop smoking if you’re going to give up smoking, this is a very good moment to do it.”

So yes, smokers are more susceptible not only to catching COVID-19 but also developing worse symptoms if they get infected.

One reason is that smoking can cause lung disease like COPD and emphysema. These lung conditions make it more likely to get pneumonia, which is one of the severe COVID-19 symptoms.

However, all smokers are at higher risk of getting respiratory viral and bacterial infections like COVID-19. Even those who don’t have other lung or medical conditions.

That’s because smoking weakens the immune system, which is the body’s natural defense mechanism – says Dr Sanjay Agrawal, chair of the Royal College of Physicians’ Tobacco Advisory Group.

On top of that, if smokers do catch the virus, they’re more susceptible to pneumonia because they have a weaker immune system, compromised lungs and have damaged the cells protecting their nose and airways.

Our airways are lined with very small hairs, called cilia. Cilia act like a broom, sweeping toxins out of the airways when we cough. Smoking and vaping irritate and inflame the lungs and slow down and destroy the cilia. With fewer and slower cilia, your airways can’t stay clean and healthy. As a result, they store mucus in the lungs and this mucus can easily be infected by viruses.

What Research Says

Even though there aren’t enough studies investigating the connection between smoking and COVID-19 yet, we know smoking harms the lungs, which is what the virus attacks.

The coronavirus uses the receptor ACE2 to infect cells. And a preprint study found that the gene that encodes the receptor ACE2 is more active in smokers than nonsmokers. “This indicates that smokers may be more susceptible to 2019-nCov” and are part of the vulnerable population. 

A study published in the Chinese Medical Journal involved 78 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. And they found smokers were 14 times more likely to have progressed symptoms than nonsmokers, including death.

Another research analyzing 8000 deaths from China showed men are more likely to die than women. This could be related to the fact that more men smoke in China. More than 50% of Chinese men smoke compared to only 2.7% of Chinese women.

The research is ongoing and there’s still a lot we don’t know about the virus.

What we do know is that smokers are more vulnerable if they’re exposed to flu or other respiratory infections. And CODIV-19 is exactly that.

Does Vaping Also Make You More Susceptible to COVID-19?

People with compromised lung function can be at risk for serious complications of COVID- 19. And because vaping can harm lung health, vapers may also be at risk. 

Although there’s no study that links vaping to mortality from COVID-19 yet, it’s been proven that vaping aerosol, used by all brands of e-cigarettes, causes lung inflammation and harms the immune system. 

Is Vaping Healthier than Smoking?

Only time will tell.

But even if it was, healthier does not mean healthy. Vaping companies and representatives – most of them owned by big Tobacco- will go in great lengths to convince you vaping is an option during this epidemic. It’s not.

When it comes to defending against a virus that infects your lungs, vaping makes you susceptible because:

• Vaping causes inflammation of the lungs. A study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research found that just one month of vaping altered the lungs of people who never vaped before.

• E-cigarettes harm lung cells and make you less able to respond to infection says Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

• Vaping contains acrolein (a herbicide) that can cause lung injury, COPD, asthma and lung cancer.

• It can suppress the response of your immune system at the gene level as much or even more than smoking.

• And it can change your lung biology, even if it’s occasional or second hand. In this study, healthy non-smokers were exposed to e-cigarette aerosol. After only 20 puffs, vaping altered the expression of 60 genes (including genes predisposing you to inflammation).

• What about JUUL? Aerosol from JUUL (owned by Phillip Morris) impairs blood vessels the same way normal cigarette smoke does.

You can learn more ways e-cigarettes affect your lungs and make you susceptible to respiratory infections here.

Do not exchange smoking for vaping and if you vape, now it’s the best time to stop. 

Are Young Adults Safe?

Recent research showed that young adults are at risk if they smoke or vape.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco looked at data from 8,400 men and women ages 18 to 25 and found that 1 in 3 young adults who smoke or vape have higher risk of illness severity, ICU admission or death.

So e-cigarette, tobacco and cigar use makes young adults vulnerable- even if they’re otherwise healthy.

FAQ’S

What if I already have a lung condition or underlying health condition?

Having an underlying health condition or lung disease such as COPD and emphysema increases your risk of experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms.

But remaining a smoker or vaper increases that risk even more. 

Stopping smoking may not remove the risk 100%. However, you will stop causing inflammation to your body and you will improve your health and immune system, giving your body a fighting chance against the virus.

Quitting smoking will also help you feel more in control over your health.

Is it too late for me? For how long do I need to be smoke-free to reduce my risk of getting corona or having serious complications if I get it?

According to Professor Lewis, lung defenses can start to heal within days after quitting. So quitting smoking now could significantly improve your ability to defend and recover from the infection. 

There’s not a specific day after quitting that your lungs or immune system instantly heal. On the contrary! The healing is continuous; it starts the moment you quit and keeps improving for as long as you stay smoke-free.

So quitting smoking will improve lung function and decrease your risk of pneumonia, and if you do get CONVID-19, you’ll have a lower risk of severe symptoms. 

Every cigarette you don’t smoke matters!

I self-quarantine. It’s not going to happen to me. Do I still have to quit?

The virus has already infected 200.000 people worldwide and it keeps spreading exponentially. Also, it’s fairly easy to catch it and we’re not sure if those recovered are immune or can spread it again.

So it’s best to think in terms “What if I do get it?”. In that case, your immune system is your first line of defense.

Even in quarantine, your life will be 100 times better if you don’t have to worry about smoking. Plus, you’ll have the time and space to prepare for your quit and succeed. It’s the right time. 

Is cannabis safe?

Although we don’t know exactly how cannabis affects the lungs and immune system, cannabis smoke is very similar to tobacco smoke, and vaped cannabis still delivers aerosol. So it’s recommended to stop using it, for now, explains Stanton A. Glantz, PhD the director of The Center for Tobacco Research Control & Education.

How to Quit Smoking Despite the Stress

The COVID-19 epidemic can change everything. Not only because it’s a potentially deadly virus for some but also because it’s changing life as we know it. 

Our routines, freedom, social interactions, priorities, work environment, frame of mind.  Everything gets affected. 

Even though we all hope there’s a solution soon, we still have to adapt to this new reality. A reality we didn’t choose but still have to embrace. 

In those times of uncertainty and stress, you may think cigarettes will help you cope.

Not because smoking gives any certainty or relaxation; cigarettes are nothing but a stick of brainless rolled grass with 4000 chemicals. 

But because smoking is part of a routine; and routine gives the illusion of certainty and stability.

In times where everything changes, you may be apprehensive to make additional changes like quitting smoking.

But in reality, quitting smoking is the ONLY change that will give you certainty, security and some peace of mind. It’s something you will do now and reap the benefits now and forever. 

Quitting smoking is the only thing that can reduce your stress physically and mentally.

Just imagine having more money, health, and freedom – instead of worrying about your next craving, stocking up cigarettes or feeling guilty for smoking.

The truth is, quitting smoking is the ONLY thing you can control right now.

So why leave that to chance?

There’s no good reason to postpone it any longer.

– Nasia Davos

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How long does nicotine stay in your system after you quit smoking? And how long do other tobacco toxins (like arsenic or cadmium) stay in your system?

There are many different reasons why you might want to know how long nicotine stays in your body.

You may be interested in quitting smoking so you want to know how long the physical withdrawal from nicotine is likely to last.

Maybe you want to know how long it will take for your body to feel healthier.

Or maybe, you might be tested for evidence of tobacco use. 

Some companies–hospitals, for example–may require prospective employees to be tested for tobacco use before a job offer is finalized. You might also encounter other situations when nicotine testing is required, like preparing for a surgery or applying for insurance. 

First, we’ll talk about how long nicotine stays in your system and then about other tobacco toxins.

How Your Body Expels Nicotine

Before discussing how nicotine leaves your body, let’s talk about how nicotine is absorbed into your body. 

Nicotine Absorption

When you inhale, cigarette smoke is drawn into your lungs. Tiny air sacs called alveoli line the lungs. Oxygen passes into the alveoli and then into the small blood vessels called capillaries that surround them. 

If there’s cigarette smoke in your lungs, nicotine and other substances in the smoke pass into the alveoli and capillaries, too. That’s how nicotine is absorbed into your body.

If you smoke a pipe or cigar, or if you use smokeless tobacco, nicotine is absorbed through the membranes lining your mouth, rather than through your lungs. 

Once nicotine is absorbed, it travels to your brain and body through the bloodstream.

Nicotine Metabolism and Elimination

Most of the nicotine is metabolized (broken down) by liver enzymes. There are six main metabolites, or breakdown products. The most important one is a substance called cotinine. 

About 70 to 80 percent of the nicotine absorbed by the body is converted into cotinine.

The cotinine is broken down further into still other metabolites. 

Then the metabolites are eliminated from the body in the urine. 

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your System?

Nicotine is eliminated from the body much more quickly than cotinine.

Nicotine has a half-life of about 2 hours. Half-life is the amount of time it takes for 50 percent of a substance to be eliminated from the body. 

Nicotine’s half-life is very short, with about 50 percent of it removed from the body in 2 hours. 

So how long does nicotine stay in your system? In about 3 to 5 days after your last cigarette, nicotine has been largely eliminated from the body. 

How Long Does Cotinine Stay in Your System?

Cotinine is metabolized and eliminated from the body much more slowly than nicotine. While the half-life of nicotine is about 2 hours, the half-life of cotinine is about 15 hours.

It can take more than 2 weeks for cotinine levels to drop to those typical of a nonsmoker. And for some heavy smokers, it can take about 3 weeks.

Nicotine testing actually tests for cotinine, not nicotine itself. That’s because cotinine can be detected much longer than nicotine can.

The only source of cotinine is nicotine, so if cotinine is found, it means there was nicotine in your body.

What Affects How Long Nicotine and Cotinine Stay in Your System?

As with almost everything else, the elimination time varies from person to person. 

There are differences from one person to another in how much nicotine is converted into cotinine. There are also differences in how quickly the metabolism of cotinine takes place. These are genetic differences, for the most part. 

Other factors that affect how long tobacco stays in your system are:

• How much you smoke

Elimination of nicotine takes a little longer for heavy smokers or people who smoked for many years. 

• Age

It may also take longer in people over age 65. And it is likely to be a little quicker in women than in men . It’s even quicker in women who are pregnant or taking estrogen.

• Overall health

Your health matters. People with kidney disorders metabolize nicotine more slowly, so it will take longer for them to clear nicotine from their bodies. Liver disease will affect nicotine metabolism, too.

• Brand of cigarettes

And cigarettes themselves vary. The amount of nicotine in a cigarette can be different from one brand to another. If you smoke cigarettes with menthol flavoring, the speed of nicotine metabolism may be slowed.

• How deep you inhale the tobacco smoke

Of course, another difference relates to how much smoke you inhale.

• Medications

Medications you take can also affect how quickly nicotine is metabolized and eliminated. Phenobarbital, other anticonvulsants, oral contraceptives and some antibiotics can all speed nicotine metabolism. Antifungal medication, some high blood pressure medication and some MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) used to treat depression can slow nicotine metabolism.

By the way, smoking can also alter the effectiveness of some drugs. If you’re taking a prescription medication, the dosage may need to be changed when you quit smoking. That’s something to discuss with your physician.

How Is Nicotine Testing Done?

Testing requires a sample. That sample can be urine, blood, saliva or hair. 

Urine Testing

Most of the time, testing is done on a urine sample. It’s easy to collect, giving it an advantage over blood testing. And cotinine concentrations in urine are 4 to 6 times higher than cotinine levels in blood or saliva.

For most people, cotinine declines to levels seen in nonsmokers in about 7 to 10 days. But for people who smoke heavily, it can take as long as 3 weeks.

Urine samples are usually collected as a random sample. That means you won’t know in advance what day you’re going to be tested, or what time during the day. 

The reason for random testing is obvious: a urine sample is almost always given in private, so it might be possible to substitute someone else’s urine for your own. But when testing is random, it makes it very difficult to be prepared with a clean urine sample.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your Urine?

Nicotine stays in your unine for 7-10 days. If you’re a heavy smoker it can stay for up to 3 weeks. 

Blood Testing

Testing for nicotine in blood requires a blood draw with a needle, so it isn’t done very often.

Nicotine will appear in your blood very quickly after you smoke. It can be detected about an hour after smoking. Cotinine can be detected for as long as 10 days after your last cigarette.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your Blood?

Nicotine stays in your blood for 10 days after your last cigarette.

Saliva Testing

Saliva testing is easy to do. It doesn’t require any needles. And it has an advantage over urine testing, because an observer can watch the sample being taken. 

Cotinine can be detected in saliva for about 4 days.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your Saliva?

Nicotine and its metabolite, cotinine, stay in your salive for 4 days. 

Hair Testing

Nicotine and cotinine are found in hair, too. They reach the hair follicles through the bloodstream and remain in the hair as it grows. 

And they can be detected in hair for much longer than in other samples. Depending on the type of test used, nicotine and cotinine could be detected as long as a year after exposure to smoke!

If you were in very smoky surroundings, then smoke could have come from other peoples’ cigarettes. But in that case, the nicotine wouldn’t have been metabolized in your body, so there would only be nicotine in your hair, and no cotinine.

Hair testing is a more complicated procedure than testing of other samples, and it’s more expensive. As a result, it’s more likely to be done to test for cocaine, opiates or other drugs of abuse than to test for nicotine.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your Hair?

Nicotine stays in your hair from 90 days up to 1 year. 

Laboratory Testing

Once the sample is taken, it’s sent to a laboratory for analysis. Several different testing methods may be used there.

The first test might be a screening test. It’s also called a qualitative test. It shows whether the substance–in this case, nicotine or cotinine–is present in the sample. 

Other tests are quantitative. They show the amount of the substance that’s present in the sample.

Home Test Kits

A number of commercial home test kits for nicotine are available. They’re performed on a urine or saliva sample. 

A card or strip to dip into the sample is provided. If cotinine is present in the sample, there will be a color change on the card or strip. 

The home test kits aren’t as precise as laboratory testing, but they will show whether there has been recent nicotine use. They won’t indicate how much cotinine is present, which is something that more sophisticated laboratory testing would show.

Is Testing Accurate?

You might wonder if nicotine testing is accurate. After all, what if you were just around people who were smoking, and you weren’t smoking yourself?

The tests would indicate that. The levels of nicotine and cotinine in your body would be very different.

Dietary Sources of Nicotine

A small amount of the nicotine in your body may have come from sources other than tobacco. 

Nicotine is a chemical compound, a natural pesticide, that’s found in the leaves of tobacco plants, and also in the leaves of some other plants. They’re the ones in the nightshade family: tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, chili peppers, and bell peppers.

But these other plants have much lower nicotine content. So the cut-off levels for nicotine and cotinine tests are set high enough that they rule out dietary sources .

What is a cut-off level?

It’s the concentration of a substance–in this case, either nicotine or cotinine–that has been chosen as the amount considered to be a positive test result. A very low concentration of the substance will give a negative test result. 

Can Secondhand Smoke Show Up On a Drug Test?

Most of the time, the cut-off level of nicotine tests is set high enough to separate tobacco use from exposure to smoke in your surroundings. That’s called secondhand smoke. 

Secondhand smoke enters the bloodstream in the same way as if you were smoking a cigarette. And once it’s absorbed, it’s metabolized in the same way, too.

If you’ve spent a lot of time around smokers, you’ll probably test positive for low levels of nicotine and cotinine. But the levels won’t be nearly as high as they would be if you were the one smoking.

Nicotine Replacement Products

People who are using nicotine patches, gum or other nicotine replacement products will test positive for both nicotine and cotinine. 

But they won’t test positive for anabasine. It’s a substance found in tobacco, but it’s not in any of the nicotine replacement products.

The testing procedure can also check for anabasine. If it’s found in the sample, it shows that the person tested was still using tobacco products.

Withdrawal from Nicotine

When you quit smoking you’ll probably experience some degree of withdrawal. It’s both a physical and a psychological process. 

Nicotine withdrawal is a sign your body is healing and overcoming the addiction. You may have physical symptoms like headaches, insomnia, or cough. And you may feel irritable or sad or have trouble concentrating. 

Most of these symptoms are strongest in the first few days after you quit smoking. They’ll lessen after that and probably stop completely in a few weeks.

Within 3 to 5 days after your last cigarette (or any form of nicotine), most nicotine will be out of your body. 

Withdrawal symptoms aren’t harmful, but they may be uncomfortable. There are some things you can do to make the quitting process easier.

How Long Other Tobacco Toxins Stay in Your System

Aside from nicotine, cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and vaping have inside thousands of other chemicals and heavy metals.

Unfortunately, it’s challenging to test your exposure to each of the 4000 chemicals that are in your cigarettes.  Also, the effects of exposure to any toxic substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you’re exposed, your lifestyle, and whether other chemicals are present.

Below are some of the tobacco chemicals and how long they stay in your system, according to the American Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Arsenic

Tobacco has arsenic that’s also used in rat poison. Arsenic is carcinogenic and was ranked as the most harmful substance in 2001. It takes several months to leave your body.

Benzene

Benzene, which is linked to leukemia, can be found in rubber cement, gasoline, and dyes. Most of the metabolites of benzene leave the body through the urine within 48 hours after you stop smoking.

Hexavalent Chromium

Your tobacco has Hexavalent chromium, that’s also in textile dyes, wood preservation, and anti-corrosion products. When inhaled, this chemical can cause lung cancer and cancer of the nose. Most of the Hexavalent chromium leaves the body in the urine within a week – although some of its by-products can remain in your cells for several years.

Acetone

Acetone, which can also be found in nail polish remover, will leave your body within three days after your exposure stops.

Cadmium

Cadmium is a heavy metal that the tobacco plant absorbs from the surrounding soils (organic cigarettes or cigarettes with “no added chemicals” also have cadmium because it comes from the tobacco plant itself).

Cadmium can also be found in battery acid and paint and can contribute to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. Most of the cadmium goes to your kidney and liver and can remain there for many years after your exposure stops.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a chemical released in car exhaust fumes, and it is a poisonous gas found in your cigarettes. When you breathe carbon monoxide, it quickly enters your blood, brain, heart, and muscles, and it takes about a full day to leave the body.

Naphthalene

Naphthalene is a carcinogen found in tobacco as well as mothballs. It is also used to create black smoke in simulated explosions.  Most naphthalene that enters your body leaves it quickly, within one to three days.

These are just a few out of the 4000 chemicals that are in your cigarettes. You can see a more extensive list of what’s in your cigarettes here.

As you saw, some chemicals leave your body in just a few days while other chemicals take months, even years to leave the body.

How to Remove Nicotine & Tobacco Toxins from Your Body Faster

You might wonder if there’s any way to speed up the process of toxin and nicotine elimination.

• Remain nicotine-free and smoke-free

The best, and most obvious, way is to stay away from tobacco. Don’t smoke, don’t chew nicotine gum, or use other nicotine replacement products.

Any exposure to tobacco or nicotine will increase the time needed to eliminate it from your system. Even a puff can replenish nicotine and tobacco toxins in your body and delay the elimination process.

There are a few other things you can do, too.

• Drink lots of water. 

It will make you urinate more often. That’s helpful because nicotine, cotinine, and most tobacco toxins are removed from the body in urine.

• Exercise more. 

A small amount of nicotine is eliminated in sweat. And exercising increases the speed with which your metabolism works. That’s helpful if you want to metabolize the nicotine and other chemicals more quickly. But don’t overdo it. That’s especially important if you haven’t been physically active lately.

• Watch what you eat. 

Detox through nutrition will help you a lot. Foods like oranges and carrots have high levels of antioxidants. They can increase the speed of your metabolism, too.

We worked with expert nutritionists and created a nutrition plan for detox that’s specifically for smokers and ex-smokers. If you want a more structured plan to detox after quitting smoking, check the Detox Nutrition Plan.

Conclusion

• Nicotine takes three to five days to leave your body. That’s when the physical addiction is gone.

• Tobacco use tests look for cotinine that leaves your body in about two to three weeks.

• How long other tobacco toxins stay in your system varies depending on how much you used to smoke, your lifestyle, your nutrition, and the chemical itself (benzene takes two days to leave the body while cadmium takes years)

• To expel nicotine and toxins from your body faster, stay away from tobacco and detox through exercise and nutrition.

If you want to heal but feel stuck, think you’re too addicted, and quitting is too hard, then the CBQ Method can help you. Over the last decade, the CBQ Method has reached and helped millions of people quit smoking. This is the same method I talked about in my TED talk, and it works because it helps you overcome the mental addiction so you can stop wanting to smoke.

To get started with the CBQ Method or see how it can help you, you can get the foundational video & PDF starter guide of the CBQ Method here.

In that free video, I show you the 4 stages of the CBQ method, how they work together to help you change how you think about smoking, and tips to get started with every stage. You’ll also get a PDF starter guide for the CBQ method with tips and notes you can use on your quit smoking journey.

Get the foundational video & PDF starter guide of the CBQ Method here.

Smoking is bad for your health. You know that already. But you may not know all the short-term and long term effects of smoking on your body. 

So why is smoking bad for you?

Some of the effects of smoking are obvious: bad breath, coughing, dulling of your senses of taste and smell. Others show up with time: yellowed teeth, shortness of breath, dull skin and wrinkles.

But a lot of the damage can’t be seen or felt easily. Or it may not be obvious that it’s caused by your smoking habit.  

For instance, we all know that smoking is harmful to our lungs. But did you know that it’s harmful to other parts of your body, too? Heart, blood vessels, skin, bones, brain, eyes, immune system, mouth and throat–all suffer from smoking. In fact, smoking harms almost every part of your body!

Effects of Smoking on Your Body and Health

Short-Term Effects of Smoking

The short-term effects of tobacco include:

• Bad breath
• Momentary stimulation followed by state of withdrawal and reduced brain activity
• Fatigue and dizziness
• Dulling the senses of taste and smell
• Coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Increased blood pressure 
• Increased heart rate
• Decreased blood flow
• Nausea
• Headaches

Long-Term Effects of Smoking

There have been a lot of studies of smokers’ health and scientists have discovered a wide range of diseases and harmful long-term effects of tobacco on our bodies.

Below is a list of all the diseases caused by smoking:

• Reduces life expectancy

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), cigarette smoking causes over 480,000 deaths a year in the U.S.

You’re probably not surprised that heavy smokers have a shorter life expectancy. But it’s not just heavy smokers who are at risk. People who smoke only 4 or fewer cigarettes a day can experience the negative effects of smoking and they still have a greater risk of premature death than nonsmokers!

• Asthma

If you have asthma, smoking can trigger an attack or make it worse. 

• Tuberculosis

If you’ve had tuberculosis, smoking doubles your chance of a recurrence.

• Respiratory and lung problems like COPD and emphysema

You can get lung disease from smoking. With time, you can develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema that makes it hard, and painful, to breathe.

• Heart Disease

Heart disease is often related to smoking. In fact, smokers are four times more likely to develop heart disease than nonsmokers. 

• Stroke

Strokes can occur, too. The risk of stroke is doubled for smokers.

• Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is a risk. If Alzheimer’s disease develops, it progresses more quickly in smokers than in nonsmokers.

• Rheumatoid arthritis can develop

• Crohn’s disease. Smokers are more likely to develop Crohn’s disease.

• Diabetes

Diabetes is much more common in smokers than in nonsmokers, and it’s harder to control. Some people with diabetes develop an eye disorder called diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to loss of vision.

• Cancer

Cancer is one of the most feared smoking effects. Below are some of the body areas where smoking-related cancers can occur:

• Lung cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Blood cancer (in the form of leukemia)
• Cervix cancer
• Colon and rectum cancer
• Esophagus cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Larynx cancer
• Liver cancer
• Pancreas cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Throat and tongue v
• Tonsils cancer
• Trachea cancer
• Eye Problems 

Smoking can cause other eye problems, too. Cataracts, macular degeneration, dry eye and glaucoma are a few of them.

• Weaker immune system

A body with a weak immune system leads to slower healing wounds and  increases likelihood of infection and illness.

• Erectile dysfunction

Obstructed blood flow due to smoking can also cause erectile dysfunction and impotence.

Other side effects of smoking cigarettes include:

• Fertility problems
• Increased risk of miscarriage
• Early menopause
• Menstrual problems
• Complete loss of sense of smell and taste
• Yellow teeth, tooth decay and bad breath
• Stomach ulcers
• Grey appearance
• Early wrinkles
• Back pain
• increased susceptibility to infection

What Does Smoking Do to Your Body? A Closer Look to the Most Common Long Term Effects of Smoking

Cancer

There are a lot of chemicals in cigarettes, and some of them combine to form harmful chemical compounds. You inhale those compounds when you smoke, and the people around you breathe them in when they breathe in your smoke.

Some of those compounds are known to cause cancer. You probably know that smoking can cause lung cancer. It can cause a lot of other cancers too, such as blood, throat, stomach, bladder, colon, kidney, breast and pancreatic cancer.

And smokers who develop cancer are more likely to die from it than nonsmokers.

What Does Smoking Do to Your Lungs?

The smoke you inhale irritates and inflames your lungs.  The cells in your air passages make more mucus in response. Smoke also damages the small hairs, called cilia, that line the airways. The cilia act to move mucus upwards, towards the throat, so you can cough it up or spit it out.

But when you’re a smoker, there’s more mucus, and it’s thicker than usual. The cilia are damaged, and they move more slowly than usual. That’s not a good combination. 

What smoking does to your lungs is that it makes it very hard to rid your lungs of mucus. Not only does that make you cough, it also makes it more likely that you’ll come down with a respiratory infection.

And it’s more difficult to get enough oxygen. There are clusters of small air sacs called alveoli in your lungs. Oxygen passes into the alveoli, and carbon dioxide passes out. 

The alveoli inflate and deflate as you breathe in and out. But in smokers lungs, the alveoli become less flexible. Some rupture. It becomes more difficult to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.

This is how smokers lungs look like in comparison to non-smokers lungs

Circulation

One of the most common health effects of smoking is that it damages the very small blood vessels in your lungs. They’re called capillaries. Each of the alveoli is surrounded by capillaries.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide pass through the walls of the alveoli, and then through the walls of the capillaries and into the bloodstream.

When you’re a chronic smoker, the walls of the capillaries become thicker, making it much harder for oxygen to pass through them and into your bloodstream.

The walls of other blood vessels become thicker, too. That makes them narrower, and it makes it more difficult for your heart to pump blood through them. 

Peripheral arterial disease–PAD–can develop, due to the reduced blood flood to the legs and arms. 

How does smoking affect your heart?

If you’re a smoker, your heart doesn’t get as much oxygen as it needs. It has to pump harder and faster to supply blood through your narrowed blood vessels. As a result, your blood pressure goes up. 

The tar in cigarettes can cause plaque to build up in your blood vessels. Blood flow is restricted, your blood becomes thicker and blood clots can develop. You can have a heart attack or a stroke. 

You can also develop an aortic aneurysm. It’s a bulge in the abdominal portion of the large artery carrying blood from your heart. If the aneurysm ruptures, it’s likely to be fatal.

Effects of Smoking on Your Skin

Smoking tobacco affects your skin, too. The decrease in blood flow means that your skin isn’t receiving as much oxygen and as many nutrients as it needs to stay healthy. It can begin to look gray and dull.

Some of the chemicals in cigarette smoke damage collagen and elastin. They’re important for your skin’s strength and elasticity. When they’re damaged, your skin begins to sag and wrinkles become deeper.

Vertical wrinkles form around your mouth. That’s partly because of the collagen and elastin loss, but it’s also because of that pucker you do when you hold a cigarette between your lips.

And squinting to keep smoke out of your eyes encourages formation of crow’s feet–those wrinkles around the outer side of the eyes.

Bones

Your bones also suffer when you smoke. You’re more likely to develop osteoporosis–a decrease in bone density. If you do, your bones become weaker and break more easily. And they heal more slowly after a fracture.

How Smoking Cigarettes Affects the Brain

Smoking damages your brain, too. Amongst the dangers of smoking is that the cerebral cortex becomes thinner in smokers. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain essential for memory and learning.

So the changes that normally come with aging seem to develop earlier in smokers.

Eyes

Even your eyes can be damaged by smoking. Smokers have a greater chance of developing cataracts–clouding of the lens of the eye–than nonsmokers. 

Smokers who develop diabetes can develop an eye disorder called diabetic retinopathy. The small blood vessels in the retina of the eye become damaged or blocked, affecting vision.

And diabetes or high blood blood pressure–both common in heavy smokers–mean that you’re more likely to develop glaucoma. It’s an increased pressure within the eye that can lead to loss of vision.

Age-related macular degeneration is a risk, too. It’s a eye disease that starts with blurring in the center of the field of vision. It worsens with time, limiting vision even further. And it’s a risk even for people who breathe in your secondhand smoke! 

Immune System

Smoking causes inflammation throughout the body. It weakens the immune system, and it becomes harder to fight off infections and diseases. So smoking poses even more health risks by weakening your immune system. 

Mouth and Throat

The effects of smoking on your mouth and throat are numerous. You’ve probably noticed that people who have been smoking for a long time often have discolored teeth. Most of the times, they also have gum disease.

Your gums can become swollen and sensitive and bleed easily. Your teeth can become loose, too. And if you have any dental procedures–oral surgery or a tooth extraction, for example–healing can be slower and more difficult.

If you smoke, or use tobacco in any other form, you have a high risk of developing oral cancers. Cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking can lead to cancer of the mouth or throat, while chewing tobacco can lead to cancer of the lips, gums or cheeks.

Effects of Smoking on Pregnancy 

If you smoke, you may have trouble becoming pregnant. And if your partner smokes, he may have problems with erectile dysfunction. If he’s a heavy smoker, he may have a low sperm count and low sperm motility. So both men and women who are smokers may have reduced fertility.

If you’re pregnant, or thinking about becoming pregnant, it’s important to know that smoking can harm your baby. And that harm starts while it’s still in the womb.

The chemical you inhale in cigarette smoke can pass through the placenta and umbilical cord to your baby. And the amount of oxygen your baby gets–and needs–can be reduced if you smoke.

Your baby’s lungs and brain may not form properly. A cleft palate and other defects of the mouth or lips could develop.

Smoking during pregnancy makes it more likely that your baby will be born preterm, and that he or she will have a low birth weight. Preterm and low birth weight babies can have a wide variety of medical and developmental difficulties, both in infancy and later in life.

There’s also a risk of sudden infant death syndrome–SIDS. And that risk is increased if your baby breathes in secondhand smoke, either from you or from someone else.

Secondhand smoke is dangerous for your baby in other ways, too. He or she can develop asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia or ear infections.

How Your Health Improves After You Quit Smoking

Discovering all the harmful consequences of smopking may seem really discouraging. There’s some good news, though.

If you quit smoking, your health will improve. And those improvements will begin very quickly.

Your health starts improving as soon as 20 minutes after you stop smoking.

Your elevated pulse rate and blood pressure will return to normal. The tissues in your body will start to receive more oxygen.

You’ll start to feel the difference in your ability to breathe more easily. With time, even your risk of cancer will decrease.

What happens when you stop smoking. 

The risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and lung diseases declines after quitting smoking.

Most doctors will tell you that quitting smoking is the single most important action you can take to improve your health. Isn’t it time for you to quit?