The amount of nicotine in a cigarette varies depending on the brand, but on average, a single cigarette contains about 10 to 12 mg of nicotine. However, not all of this nicotine is inhaled as it burns, and a smoker typically absorbs between 1 to 1.8 mg of nicotine per cigarette. This means that for a pack of 20 cigarettes, a smoker will likely inhale between 22 to 36 mg of nicotine. Its important to note that the nicotine content in cigarettes can vary widely from one brand to the next.