Tracking the Rise in Popularity of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Electronic Cigarettes) Using Search Query Surveillance
Electronic nicotine delivery systems, also known as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, have become more popular in recent years. These battery-powered devices deliver nicotine or other substances via a vapor that is inhaled by the user.
This 2011 study assesses the popularity of e-cigarettes, which are heavily marketed online, by tracking online search queries in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Researchers analyzed Google searches from 2008-2010 and compared the frequency of e-cigarette related searches to searches for other smoking alternatives, such as nicotine gums and smoking-cessation pills.
Key Findings
- Searches related to e-cigarettes increased substantially from 2008-2010 in United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
- By September 2010, e-cigarette related searches had eclipsed searches for other smoking alternatives by several-hundred-fold in the United States and United Kingdom.
- Countries and states with stronger tobacco control laws, such as clean indoor air laws and cigarette taxes, had consistently higher levels of e-cigarette related searches, suggesting users seek e-cigarettes in order to bypass, or quit in response to, smoking restrictions.
Search query surveillance is a valuable, real-time, free, and public method to evaluate the diffusion of new health products. This method may be generalized to other areas of health and social science research.
Citation: Ayers JW, Ribisl KM, Brownstein JS. Tracking the Rise in Popularity of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Electronic Cigarettes) Using Search Query Surveillance. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2011;40(4):448-453.