Understanding Nicotine Testing for Life Insurance

Question
I am about to take a blood test for a term life insurance policy.  I smoked a cigar about 10 days ago, and about 4 dips of snuff per week (for the past several months).  Do they test for nicotine or some other chemical in tobacco to verify if I am a smoker or not?  A friend of mine tested positive for smoking and he had smoked a cigar about two months previous...can they test that far back on a blood test???

Thanks

Answer
Dustin,

I'm not sure if your insurance company will test for nicotine or not. Given that smoking can cause lung cancer - among other things - and cancer can lead to death, it would be in their best interest to find out if you smoke.

When I had a blood test for life insurance last year, I remember reading the information I was given by my insurance agent and it did say they would test for nicotine. They usually ask you if you smoke as well.

My guess is that your friend must have smoked around the time he had his blood test. I don't see how the lab could have found nicotine in his blood from one cigar smoked two months prior...

- Beth