Nicotine is an alkaloid that occurs in tobacco, used in medicine, and also as an insecticide. The instant Nicotine cassette is a lateral flow chromatographic immunoassay for the detection of Cotinine in human urine at a cut-off concentration of 200 ng/mL.  Cotinine is a principle and residual metabolite of Nicotine which remains in the body of habitual tobacco users. Cotinine is found in urine from 2 to 4 days after tobacco usage. Nicotine can be tested through urine, saliva, or hair follicles.

Some companies utilize nicotine test kits in order to detect the usage of nicotine in potential or current employees, and can be detected for up to 3-5 days after the last nicotine use. The nicotine test kit is highly accurate, and resultes are equivalent to similar tests done in a laboratory.