Home Test for Nicotine Blood Levels ???

[JoAnna1010]

Good for you for jumping in.
Never be intimidated by boring, know-it-all cyber bullies in a forum like this.

Now......look back up the thread on this subject and you will see that Tom09 responded to my request for this info. He gave me the names of two companies that appear to be selling the exact type test I'm interested in.

Remember.....I didn't want a test that just showed (+) or (-) for nicotine or the measurable metabolite of nicotine called carotine. I hoped to find a test that indidcated a level of nicotine in the blood.

I went to the websites of these companies and from the test desccription, both tests appear to be what I wanted. Early next week, I'm going to call and find out how expensive they are and how many test you can perform with each kit. This will be important because there is wide variation in nic levels of the body at various times in the day/night. I would want to perform several tests based on eCig and smoking nicotine blood levels.

[googled]

Tobacalert costs 9.45 GBP (and 22 GBP shipping) from drugstore.com

drugstore.com - drugstore.com

I think it's only 1 testing strip? Not sure. The product listing is a bit vague.

[rejoice]

Joanna, if you find this information out. Please post the results of your findings.
This is a interesting subject. I have read that analogs have additives that increase nicotine levels. Please do a study on both. Analogs and PV.

[jim420]

Joanna1010,
I am not being sarcastic, please believe me. As a research nurse, you are doubtlessly aware of a mass spectrograph. This could give you blood nicotine levels with extreme accuracy, and be done on blood samples taken at specified times after vaping, thus giving accurate absorption and metabolizing rates. This could also be done with smoking (the results of many, many tests are available online, I am certain) so that you would have a comparison, and of course, non-users of these products could be a control group. Be sure to include people that have ingested other nicotine-containing things as well, such as tomato, etc. You local university medical school most likely has a spectrograph.
Best of luck,
Jim

[Tom09]

You’re welcome! Even if one or the other member on this board might carry on ignorance as a badge of honor, other members do care and do want to know. All we presently have, is one prelimnary report on a kinetic study on blood nicitine levels (some discussion here). While indicating that nicotine absorption from vaping is probably significantly less effective than from smoking, this left the door wide open on variables such as user habit, device, whatever. Factual information is highly needed.

[Tom09]

I’ll add something for consideration, here. I’m not in medicine, so take my words with a spoon of salt. Anyhow, nicotine has a relatively short half life of ~ 1 hour, while the half-life of the main metabolism product, cotinine, is about 1 day. You’d have to analyze blood nicotine levels if you’d be interested in a kinetic study. This can’t be achieved by analyzing cotinine. The cotinine levels, however, do represent a relatively stable marker of nicotine exposition/absorption. Just have to remind the extended time frame, but you‘ll still be able to get an idea on nicotine absorption, comparing, for instance, measurements after two days of smoking, after two days of 16 mg vaping, after two days of 0 mg vaping (for individuals within a control group or the personal development over time). The cotinine test certainly comes with a kinetic caveat. However, it has the advantages to be readily available and to come at relatively low expenses (assuming that only a very few people have the respective funding or find themselves in a position to get someone running the MS analysis for free). From what I could gather in an uninformed, cursory reading into some papers, those (semi-)quantitative cotinine test kits appear to be quite accurate.

[SueandCootie]

Something that had a HUGE impact on my life and health back 8 years ago was the entire estrogen pills/age/smoking/stroke risk issue, so there is one very valid medical reason for some of us to be curious about the nicotine levels in our bodies, vaping vs smoking. It's too late for it to help my health..damage is done..but if enough curiousity lead to some research...

[JoAnna1010]

Hi Tom

Yes. I have thought about the effect of half life and rapid metabolism. I'm going to have to talk to the makers of the tests and get more info on the sensitivity/specificity, costs, ect.

I'm thinking that in its simpilest format, I could just smoke normallly one day and run tests several times during that day. Then, the next day, vape normally and run tests the same times during that day. At that point, I could compare the results of both days and see nicotine levels from both vap/smoke at the various points in the day.

Not exactly "world class science", but a very basic 24 hour assessment of nicotine levels that would tell me how much nicotine I'm getting overall......and how that level varies whether the nicotine comes form smoking or vaping.

I think if you repeated the "experiment" several times on different days you would get an even more clear picture. Also, it would be interesting if you could abstained from all nicotine for several days and did a "no nicotine baseline test.

Of course, this would be very general information, specific to me and my habits -one smoker but it would be good general information and interesting.

We'll see what develops.

[efaglil]

JoAnna, I'll be fascinated to know your findings too.

One other test you may consider is the absorption rate. I read somewhere that the nicotine from e-cigs takes approx 30 mins longer to be absorbed than the rate of absorption from analogues. If I can find that source I'll post it.

Very best of luck with your study.

[Kate51]

Now, we're getting somewhere folks! I've also had it with terse, unforgiving opinionated and frankly insulting remarks that flow easily out of some people's posts almost all the time. A person gets embarrassed by that kind of overall picture "outsiders" may be getting about a very serious, inquisitive, and deeply important Forum, and those comments just tear down any semblance of propriety and legitimacy.
Just please think before you tear into someone's posts in a personal way. It isn't attractive at all. It should be dealt with quickly before the atmosphere here completely goes toxic.