Nicotine can be detected in the body for longer than you'd probably expect. Here's what you should know—plus helpful tricks to quit smoking.

How Long Does It Take Nicotine to Work? Nicotine acts quickly in the body. After taking a puff from your cigarette, the substance enters the bloodstream and makes it to the brain within 20 seconds.

After ingesting tobacco, nicotine stays in the urine, blood, saliva, hair, and nails. Learn more about how long nicotine stays in a person's system here.

Your cotinine levels also depend on how long since you last ingested nicotine. If you’re a current smoker, urine cotinine levels may be 1,000 to 8,000 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).