ArticlePloS one2016
Effect of Tobacco Control Policies on Information Seeking for Smoking Cessation in the Netherlands: A Google Trends Study.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessing the Methods, Tools, and Statistical Approaches in Google Trends Research: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- Revolutionizing healthcare: Unleashing the power of regulatory measures to enforce smoke-free policies in Indonesian medical facilities.Health promotion perspectives · 2025Article
- The evolutionary mechanism of information negentropy spurred by emergencies.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The symbiotic effect of online searches and vaccine administration-a nonlinear correlation analysis of baidu index and vaccine administration data.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Cross-Country Comparison of Bans on Internet Tobacco Advertising, and Search Interest in Vaping Products.Tobacco use insights · 2025Article
- Google Trends Analysis of Interest in Smoking Cessation, Treatment Options, and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Following Tax Increase and Introduction of Pictorial Health Warnings in Germany.Tobacco use insights · 2025Article
- Google Trends Assessment of Keywords Related to Smoking and Smoking Cessation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 4 European Countries: Retrospective Analysis.Online journal of public health informatics · 2024Article
- A Media Analysis of the COVID-19 Tobacco Sales Ban in South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Comparison of the baseline characteristics and influencing factors of successful smoking cessation before and during the coronavirus disease pandemic.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Public interest in different types of masks and its relationship with pandemic and policy measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: a study using Google Trends data.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The Impact of Smokers' Information-Seeking Behavior on Smoking Cessation.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- Understanding Health Communication Through Google Trends and News Coverage for COVID-19: Multinational Study in Eight Countries.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2021Article
- Trends in Home Birth Information Seeking in the United States and United Kingdom During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA network open · 2021Article
- Association Between State Indoor Tanning Legislation and Google Search Trends Data in the United States From 2006 to 2019: Time-Series Analysis.JMIR dermatology · 2021Article
- Google Trends on Obesity, Smoking and Alcoholism: Global and Country-Specific Interest.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Interests in quitting smoking and alcohol during COVID-19 pandemic in India: A Google Trends study.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2020Article
- Public Reactions to the Cigarette Control Regulation on a Chinese Microblogging Platform: Empirical Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Did the introduction of pictorial health warnings increase information seeking for smoking cessation?: Time-series analysis of Google Trends data in six countries.Tobacco prevention & cessation · 2019Article
- Public health awareness of autoimmune diseases after the death of a celebrity.Clinical rheumatology · 2017Article
- Zika pandemic online trends, incidence and health risk communication: a time trend study.BMJ global health · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe impact of tobacco control policies on measures of smoking cessation behaviour has often been studied, yet there is little information on their precise magnitude and duration. This study aims to measure the magnitude and timing of the impact of Dutch tobacco control policies on the rate of searching for information on smoking cessation, using Google Trends search query data.
methodsAn interrupted time series analysis was used to examine the effect of two types of policies (smoke-free legislation and reimbursement of smoking cessation support (SCS)) on Google searches for 'quit smoking'. Google Trends data were seasonally adjusted and analysed using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modelling. Multiple effect periods were modelled as dummy variables and analysed simultaneously to examine the magnitude and duration of the effect of each intervention. The same analysis was repeated with Belgian search query data as a control group, since Belgium is the country most comparable to the Netherlands in terms of geography, language, history and culture.
resultsA significant increase in relative search volume (RSV) was found from one to four weeks (21-41%) after the introduction of the smoking ban in restaurants and bars in the Netherlands in 2008. The introduction of SCS reimbursement in 2011 was associated with a significant increase of RSV (16-22%) in the Netherlands after 3 to 52 weeks. The reintroduction of SCS in 2013 was associated with a significant increase of RSV (9-21%) in the Netherlands from 3 to 32 weeks after the intervention. No effects were found in the Belgian control group for the smoking ban and the reintroduction of SCS in 2013, but there was a significant increase in RSV shortly before and after the introduction of SCS in 2011.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that these tobacco control policies have short-term or medium-term effects on the rate of searching for information on smoking cessation, and therefore potentially on smoking cessation rates.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.