Online public interest in smoking and lung cancer: a comparative study in Google Trends

Abstract

Background:Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death globally. There is a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer;nearly 90% of cases are caused by cigarette smoking.Aim:To investigate the public interest in the relationship between lung cancer and tobacco smoking through an analysis of searches in Google Trends over the past 16 years.Material and Methods:We conducted a systematic search through Google Trends using the search terms "lung cancer" and "smoking" to identify the numbers of lung cancer and tobacco smoking searches in populations from Turkey, the United States, and the whole world between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2019.Results:Online searches that reflect public awareness are nearly identical for both lung cancer and smoking;however, there is an inverse correlation between population interest and incidences of lung cancer and smoking. Furthermore, the numbers of searches on lung cancer and smoking decrease gradually in Turkey, in the world, and in the United States over the years, displaying a slight seasonal pattern.Conclusion:Informative and educational campaigns covering the whole year are required to raise awareness of the relationship between lung cancer and smoking and keep people argus-eyed.