Staff Reports are written by the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, Cecil's online auxiliary. Though the SDSAB does its best, these columns are edited by Ed Zotti, not Cecil, so accuracywise you'd better keep your fingers crossed.
How Many MG Of Nicotine In A Cigarette. Cigarettes contain anywhere from 8 mg of nicotine up to 20 mg of nicotine. Most cigarettes are at the lower end of the spectrum, which puts the average amount on nicotine in one cigarette at 12 mg. While the total amount of nicotine in a cigarette may vary, the amount that you actually absorb is relatively constant.
The end result is that every cigarette you smoke probably contains 12 to 18 mg of nicotine and puts 1 mg of that nicotine into your system. That is 1 mg of nicotine into your system even when how much nicotine is in one cigarette may vary somewhat from brand to brand.