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.
When swallowed, nicotine is extremely toxic. Ingesting about 40 milligrams of pure nicotine, or roughly the amount contained in two cigarettes, is fatal. However, when a cigarette is smoked, most of the nicotine is burned, and only one to four milligrams is absorbed into the body.