HOW LONG DOES SMOKE STAY IN YOUR LUNGS?

HOW LONG DOES CIGARETTE SMOKE STAY IN YOUR LUNGS?

Many of the chemicals produced from smoking can get stuck in the lungs, such as tar, that don't start to clear out until you quit smoking, but the evidence for how long it takes to get tobacco smoke particles out from the lungs indicates anywhere between 18 to 90 seconds, with a mean number of breaths required to wash tobacco smoke particles of 8.7 (1).

INTRODUCTION

Active smokers who have been smoking for years may have some idea how long it takes to clear the cigarette smoke out of the lungs out after smoking a cigarette - it may not be precise, but I expect that smokers often feel when there is more smoke to exhale.

While it may take a matter of breaths to wash out tobacco particles from your breath, there are many reasons a tobacco user may want to know how long nicotine stays in the body. It may be your life or health insurance prohibits smoking or is impacted by it, and you may have to provide a urine sample or saliva sample for drug tests.

Whatever the reason, today we are looking at how long smoke stays in the lungs and answering 'how long does nicotine stay in the body?'

THE EFFECTS OF TOBACCO SMOKE ON THE LUNGS

Tobacco smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals, many of which are toxic and can cause significant damage to the lungs. When inhaled, these harmful chemicals can lead to both short-term and long-term health problems, from emphysema to heart disease. It is also well known that tobacco smoke is a trigger for asthma and may well contribute to the development of asthma in children.

THE EFFECTS OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS ON ORAL HEALTH

Tobacco products have significant negative effects on oral health. Smoking and using tobacco can lead to gum disease, tooth decay, and smokers breath. One of the most serious impacts is an increased risk of oral cancer, particularly in the mouth, throat, and tongue. Tobacco use also stains teeth and reduces the ability to taste food properly. It impairs the healing process in the mouth, making it harder for gum tissue to recover from damage or dental procedures, resulting in a receding gum line. Over time, smoking weakens the immune system's ability to fight off infections, contributing to the progression of periodontal (gum) disease, which can eventually result in tooth loss.

Be sure to brush your teeth regularly, drink plenty of water to keep your mouth moist with saliva (as saliva helps to keep your mouth clean) and chewing gum encourages saliva production, again helping to keep your mouth clean.

WHY IS SMOKING CESSATION HARD?

Quitting smoking is tough! So tough, in fact, that new research indicates it could take smokers over 30 quit attempts to finally kick the habit. The reason smoking cessation is hard is all down to the addictive chemical, nicotine.

Nicotine addiction happens because nicotine activates receptors in the brain that control our mood and thinking, as well as stimulating the production of hormones that reduce feelings of tiredness. The problem is that the brain starts to rely on nicotine to stimulate these pathways and failing to re-dose leaves the brain without, leading to nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Tobacco users will be aware of these nicotine withdrawal symptoms, likely having experienced them at one point or another. These symptoms can be quite physical - insomnia, headaches and sweating to feelings of anxiety, irritability and depression (2).

These symptoms can really impact your quality of life while you try to quit tobacco products. This is why nicotine replacement therapy products such as nicotine gum and nicotine patches were invented; to deliver nicotine to the body to reduce the smoker's desire to have a cigarette in a less harmful way than smoking. This is also why the E-Cigarette was invented!

HOW DOES VAPING RATE AS A FORM OF SMOKING CESSATION?

Vaping devices deliver nicotine into the body, much like nicotine replacement therapy, but E-Cigarettes are used in a similar fashion to smoking, replacing not only the nicotine content from smoking but the physical habit as well! This may be one of the reasons evidence indicates that E-Cigarettes could be up to twice as effective as other forms of nicotine replacement products (3).

What's great about E-Cigarettes is that the exhaled vapour is 99.9% water vapour with trace amounts of nicotine at best. The particles also evaporate in seconds, which means there is no risk of second hand smoke from vaping like there is from smoking!

While new studies may dispute this, it's important to keep in mind many of these are observational studies that look at exposure in the home and do not account for confounding variables, like being exposed to tobacco smoke or E-Cigarette aerosol outside the home (4). One study on machine generated E-Cigarette aerosol found that levels of particulates produced in a room were in line with background levels!

With that said, it's always going to be a good idea to respect others in your immediate space, avoid vaping in small enclosed spaces when others are present, and have a window open to allow for good ventilation in rooms. As it takes a few seconds for E-Cigarette aerosol to evaporate, there is evidence that someone close by may absorb some nicotine from your exhaled vapour. 

Whether you vape, smoke or use nicotine replacement products, nicotine stays in your system for a while after your last intake of nicotine.

THE DANGERS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE

Second hand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is the smoke that comes from burning tobacco products like cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, as well as the smoke exhaled by smokers. This smoke contains many of the same toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke and poses serious health risks to non-smokers. One of the reasons why E-Cigarettes are less harmful is that much of the 2nd hand smoke is made while the cigarette is lit and not being 'smoked' - with E-Cigarettes there is no sidestream smoke produced while you aren't using the device. This, added to the fact that 99% of the exhaled vapour is water vapour, means there is no risk of passive smoking with vaping.

While it is a lesser known risk, thirdhand smoke indoors presents an issue - even with open doors, open windows and air conditioners, that stale smoke smell lingers. Contaminated surfaces will retain some of the toxins from smoking, like tar and nicotine, which can then be absorbed through the skin of children or even the tongue of your favourite pet. Be sure to wipe down hard surfaces like worktops and walls on a regular basis, wash soft surfaces and ensure you don't abstain from deep cleaning every so often to get rid of that cigarette smell. Other tips include leaving a half-filled dish of white vinegar to help a room stop smelling

HOW LONG DOES CIGARETTE SMELL LAST ON BREATH AND CAUSE BAD BREATH?

There are a lot of nasty elements in cigarettes, some of which smell and contribute to bad breath. So, when you smoke these chemicals are entering the mouth and sticking around, particularly as smoking dries out the mouth. A dry mouth means a lack of saliva, which is the natural lubrication for the mouth and throat, but it also means the pre-digestive force of saliva isn’t at work to break down things in the mouth. This means the worst of the bad breath smell will stick around for several hours. You can combat this with regularly cleaning your teeth.

To eliminate bad breath breath, you can use breath sprays and sugar-free mints. These solutions provide short-term relief but should complement a good oral hygiene routine with regular brushing of teeth and flossing.

Things get a little trickier when we talk about the lungs. It takes from two weeks to several months for the lungs to get its functionality back (5), and that includes the ability to clear debris. Given that when we breathe out the air has been in our lungs, the smell of the mixture of tar and other chemicals from potentially years of smoking will also be expelled, contributing to smokers breath. So there is only one real fix: quit smoking!

HOW LONG DOES VAPE SMOKE STAY IN THE LUNGS?

Vape 'smoke' or 'vapour', more correctly termed 'aerosol', dissipates in the air in a matter of seconds, whereas cigarette smoke holds its form for up to 5 hours. This alone suggests that after a few breaths, any vape aerosol is expelled from the lungs. Try vaping when it's cold outside and count the number of breaths you can still see vapour, and compare this with a friend who is still smoking. While it can take 7-8 breaths for tobacco smoke to clear from the lungs, it will be faster with vape aerosol!

HOW LONG DOES NICOTINE STAY IN THE BODY?

There are a multitude of factors that impact how long nicotine stays in the body but, as a general ball-park, nicotine can stay in the blood for about 3 days, but it can be detected in a urine sample for up to 3 weeks and can be found in the hair for around 3 months to a year (6). The detail comes down to the specific nicotine chemistry that occurs in the body.

The brain isn't the only place that nicotine can bind to - the liver, kidney and spleen have places that nicotine can bind to. One of the big issues is that nicotine intake increases the presence of the receptors that nicotine binds to, which goes some way to explaining why it is harder to give up smoking if you have been smoking for a while.

The liver is responsible for processing nicotine, breaking it down into cotinine and other metabolites. The enzyme used to break down nicotine varies depending on the person's genetics, with some people able to process nicotine at twice the speed compared to others! Women appear to process nicotine faster than men, too, potentially because women tend to have a faster metabolism than men.

Other factors that can impact how quickly you get rid of nicotine include ethnic backgrounds, age, how much water you drink, and whether you still smoke. Genetic differences in the enzymes processing nicotine affect the speed at which the enzyme works, and reduced blood flow to the liver as you age may account for the slower processing of nicotine. If you are still smoking, the evidence suggests that you will process nicotine slower.

HOW DO YOU CONDUCT TESTING FOR NICOTINE?

Nicotine tests aren't as simple as testing for nicotine - there are a variety of tests that can find the metabolites of nicotine, such as cotinine, that can be found in urine tests for several weeks after giving up smoking. Whether it's nicotine or cotinine testing, they can can test whether nicotine is present or the concentration of nicotine in the body.

Urine test results can show long term tobacco use for up to several weeks after giving up smoking. Blood tests for nicotine can detect nicotine use within 2 weeks, and a saliva sample can be tested to establish recent use. Though light smokers may not test positive from a saliva sample after 11 hours, heavy smokers still have nicotine in the saliva for up to 5 days.

Hair tests are reliable for long term tobacco use and are primarily used to detect cotinine, maintaining a high level of accuracy for 3 months after stopping smoking and able to detect nicotine use from the hair for up to a year after starting smoking cessation.

CAN YOU CLEAR NICOTINE FROM THE BODY FASTER?

There are a number of ways to encourage faster clearance of nicotine from the body but a heavy smoker will still be clearing nicotine and cotinine from the body for up to 3 months after smoking cessation.

Some top tips to ease withdrawal symptoms include eating a healthful diet to get plenty of vitamin C and antioxidants to combat the damage from free radicals made by smoking and help to bolster the immune system to help deal with the stress of quitting smoking! Drink plenty of water to remove nicotine from the body via urination and consider taking Ginseng as it reduces the release of the reward chemical 'dopamine' from nicotine stimulation.

HOW LONG UNTIL THE LUNGS RECOVER?

While the lungs can clear tobacco smoke particles from recent tobacco smoke exposure in 8.7 breaths, the damage to the lungs takes much longer to repair. The sooner you switch to an E-Cigarette, the better!

At 48 hours since your last cigarette, the cilia that line the airways start to work again. These hair-like structures work to clear debris from the lungs which often results in coughing a lot. By 72 hours, the airways should be a lot clearer, making it easier to breathe, and the cardiovascular system should also be functioning better, improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the whole body!

PROFESSIONAL HELP FOR SMOKERS

Quitting smoking is the most effective way to eliminate the health risks associated with tobacco smoke. However, overcoming nicotine addiction can be challenging, and many smokers benefit from stop smoking services supplied by a local healthcare provider.

HOW ARE NICOTINE TESTS AFFECTED BY NICOTINE REPLACEMENT PRODUCTS AND SECONDHAND SMOKE?

So - you have finally quit smoking and now want to get yourself a brand new health insurance plan - great! The insurers ask if you are a smoker, to which you say 'no' because you have gone 3 days without smoking, however you are quitting using a form of nicotine replacement therapy - nicotine patch, nicotine gum - so when they ask for a urine test, you are a little concerned. You are still taking in nicotine, but you aren't smoking; will the test results show you have been smoking when you haven't?

This is why a 'nicotine test' may actually be a 'cotinine test' or even a test for anabasine (a tobacco-specific alkaloid not present in nicotine replacement products). Cotinine is more stable in the body, making it a good indicator of tobacco use, but nicotine can be converted into cotinine and back again, making the anabasine test essential for smokers who have quit with NRT.

If you have quit using an E-Cigarette, then fear not! An anatabine test is suitable for those who quit smoking with E-Cigarettes (7)!

HOW LONG DOES SMOKE STAY IN YOUR LUNGS - CONCLUSION

Quitting smoking is a challenging time but knowing the milestones as you pass them can be a boost when you are struggling. Knowing that you can update your health insurance and that tests can tell the difference between using a nicotine product and actually smoking is another encouraging thought.

The effects of smoking won't be fully eliminated until you put at least a decade between you and your last cigarette, but many of the benefits of quitting happen fast - taste and smell returning as your mouth health improves, better lung function and a less-stressed cardiovascular system, and no more cigarette smell, to name a few. The sooner you quit, the sooner you will see these benefits!

E-Cigarettes have become one of the most successful ways to become smoke free, with studies indicating they could be up to twice as effective as other forms of nicotine replacement therapy! Quitting with an E-Cig still brings the benefits from quitting smoking like improved lung function and cardiovascular improvements - so what are you waiting for? Quit smoking with SMOKO today!

REFERENCES

(1) Residual tobacco smoke: measurement of its washout time in the lung and of its contribution to environmental tobacco smoke

(2) Nicotine Withdrawal

(3) Vaping to quit smoking

(4) Expert reaction to study looking at second hand nicotine vaping in the home and respiratory symptoms in young adults

(5) Lung Recovery After Smoking: Can Lungs Repair Themselves?

(6) What to Know If You Have To Take a Nicotine Test

(7) Biomarkers of Exposure for Dual Use of Electronic Cigarettes and Combustible Cigarettes: Nicotelline, NNAL, and Total Nicotine Equivalents

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Written by Dan Overgage

Dan Overgage is a former smoker of 10 years until he became a client of SMOKO E-Cigarettes.  Dan started working with SMOKO 5 years ago after successfully quitting using our e-cigarettes and works across our Customer Service and heads up our content creation and research with a strong focus on all things quitting smoking.  During his tenure with SMOKO, Dan has written countless blogs and consults with countless clients every day to help them to stay smoke-free.