You know what nicotine is. If you smoke tobacco, you put nicotine into your body with every puff. Cotinine is a metabolite (developed byproduct) of nicotine as it is "processed" by the human body. It is a sign that nicotine has been inhaled or otherwise delivered into the body. Test that used to detect cotinine based on the same immunoassay technology that is used to detect illicit drugs, like Marijuana, Cocaine and other.
Testing for the presence of cotinine is a standard test to determine if a person is a tobacco user. Cotinine is found in urine from 2 to 4 days after tobacco use. If you want to check your child for cigarette smoking or see if your own system is free of nicotine, use this simple test kit.