Physical exercise increases plasma concentrations of nicotine during treatment with a nicotine patch.

The effect of physical exercise on plasma nicotine concentrations was studied in eight healthy subjects treated with a nicotine patch releasing 14 mg 24 h-1. After 11 h of patch application, plasma nicotine concentrations were measured before and after 20 min of moderate bicycle exercise, or 20 min of rest. Mean plasma nicotine concentration increased from 9.8 to 11.0 ng ml-1 (P = 0.015) during physical exercise, and fell non-significantly from 10.5 to 10.2 ng ml-1 during rest. The increase in plasma nicotine concentration during exercise is similar to that observed for transdermal nitroglycerin, and may be related to an exercise-induced increase in blood flow in the patch area.