Pinney Associates

This page was last edited on at

Pinney Associates is a health consultancy based in the United States (US), which has actively promoted tobacco harm reduction.

Pinney Associates’ website states that its work is “(a)dvancing research and policies that minimize death and disease associated with smoking conventional cigarettes.”1

Key People

Key people in the Pinney Associates’ leadership team have worked on tobacco issues:23

  • John Pinney – Founder and Chair, former CEO
  • Joe Gitchell – CEO and former President
  • Jack Henningfield – Vice President Research, Health Policy and Abuse Liability
  • Lucy Owen – President
  • Saul Shiffman – Senior Scientific Advisor, Behavioral Science, Study Design and Analysis
  • Arielle Selya – Scientist

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

Speaker at Tobacco Industry Event

Pinney Associates staff have been regular invited speakers at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum, an annual tobacco industry event.

Staff members have also attended the Global Forum on Nicotine. Robyn Gougelet was a member of the GFN programme committee during the time Pinney Associates was consulting for British American Tobacco (see below).

Financial Interest in Tobacco Company’s Nicotine Gum

Pinney Associates’s Jack Henningfield has disclosed that he shares a patent for a nicotine gum that is under license to Niconovum, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reynolds American (RAI) tobacco company, now owned by British American Tobacco (BAT).4

Harm Reduction Work Exclusively Funded by Tobacco Company

From February 2015 to September 2019, Pinney Associates’ work on tobacco harm reduction was exclusively funded by RAI (see image 1).567

Image 1: Screengrab from pinneyassociates.com, taken November 2017, disclosing that its harm reduction work is funded by a tobacco company

RAI has been wholly owned by BAT since July 2017. At the time of the agreement with RAI, John Pinney said:

“Our overriding objective is to minimize the death and disease caused by conventional cigarette smoking as quickly as possible and we believe we have a powerful opportunity to advance this objective with these new relationships”6

In 2018, Henningfield and Pinney senior scientific adviser Saul Shiffman co-authored a letter to the journal Addiction. The letter stated that the authors worked with the tobacco industry “because the goal of tobacco/nicotine science should be a reduction in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality, and that harm reduction products can play a major role in achieving this goal”.8 The letter’s co-authors included Brad Rodu and Jed E. Rose and was linked from the Pinney Associates’ website, at least until its funding arrangement with RAI ended.9 A number of letters criticising this standpoint were subsequently published in the same journal.8101112

From October 2019 Pinney Associates was exclusively funded by JUUL Labs, an e-cigarette company in which Altria held a 35% share (until 2023, when Altria announced that it had ended its investment in JUUL e-cigarettes, exchanging its shares for an interest in JUUL’s heated tobacco intellectual property).1314 See below for details.

According to the Pinney Associates website, from October 2024  Pinney Associates also began consulting for PMI “solely on US regulatory pathways for non-combustible, non-tobacco, nicotine products.”15

Promoted Dialogue Between Public Health and Tobacco Industry

“Our RAI Colleagues”

In January 2018, Pinney president Joe Gitchell emailed public health experts to invite them to attend a RAI briefing, scheduled for February 2018 to coincide with the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) conference.16 The purpose of the briefing was to discuss RAI’s application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to label Camel snus as ‘reduced risk’.16

Gitchell’s email implied collaboration between the tobacco industry and the public health community, referring to RAI staff as “our RAI colleagues” who were to “provide an overview of the [FDA] application and will present the behavioral [sic] data that may be of interest to you”.16

The “by-invitation only” event was to be moderated by Pinney Associates’ Saul Shiffman, and would be followed by “cocktails and appetizers following the briefing, and a sit-down dinner, sponsored by Reynolds American Inc”.16

Influencing Science

Member of Industry-Dominated CORESTA

Pinney Associates is a member of CORESTA,17 a research platform set up by tobacco scientists in 1956,18 and whose research activities have been said to advance the interests of the tobacco industry.19 CORESTA is run by a Board comprised of seven major tobacco manufactures, six tobacco-related suppliers) and the University of Kentucky (USA).2021

Between 2016 and 2018, Pinney Associates’ work (the majority in collaboration with RAI) was presented at least 17 times at CORESTA meetings and events:22

In 2019, after the direct relationship with RAI ceased, Shiffman presented a paper on statistical modelling at a CORESTA meeting:

In 2019 and 2020, Pinney Associates was listed on two papers co-authored with all the major transnational tobacco companies, relating to the development of a “consortium approach to consumer reported outcome measures” for tobacco and nicotine products.3940

In 2020, Pinney Associates was listed on a paper co-authored by employees of JUUL Labs:

See below for more on Pinney Associates’ relationship with JUUL Labs.

Criticised Surgeon General’s Report on E-Cigarettes

In a letter published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research in July 2018, Pinney Associates’ Annie Kleykamp criticised the methodology and challenged the objectivity of the Surgeon General’s report’s on e-cigarettes.42 The report , published in December 2016, found that the use of e-cigarettes among American youth is unsafe and has become a major public health concern requiring regulatory action, including incorporating e-cigarettes into smoke-free policies and regulating e-cigarette marketing to youth.43 Kleykamp accused the Surgeon General’s report of confirmation bias and excluding recently published studies whose findings were not in line with the Surgeon General’s findings.42

In the letter, Kleykamp declared that Pinney Associates “works on smoking cessation and tobacco harm minimization…for Niconovum USA, Reynolds American Innovation Inc, and RAI Services Company, all subsidiaries of Reynolds American Inc. However, we do not consult on conventional, combustible cigarettes.”42 She added that that commercial interests “had no input in to any facet of this work, from its conception, analysis, writing, nor submission.”42

Funded by JUUL Labs from October 2019

From October 17 2019, Pinney Associates stated that it was working exclusively with JUUL Labs “to advance relative risk-based regulation of nicotine and tobacco products.”44 At this point it appeared to have ended its funding relationship with RAI/BAT.

Edited Special Issue of Journal sponsored by JUUL Labs

In 2021, Saul Shiffman co-edited a special issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior, sponsored by JUUL.4546

Shiffman, and others from Pinney Associates, co-authored 10 out of the 11 papers with JUUL employees; including one written with associates of the Centre for Substance Use Research, a consultancy based in Scotland that conducts research for JUUL Labs and tobacco companies, and has received funding from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.45

There was criticism of the journal, which defended the publication of the special issue.47 In July 2021, The New York Times reported that JUUL Labs had paid a total of $US57,500 for the open access journal issue, and that three members of the editorial board resigned over this arrangement.484950

Work with other industry funded organisations

Arielle Selya has also consulted for the Centre of Excellence for the Acceleration of Harm Reduction (CoEHAR), which is funded by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (now Global Action to End Smoking).515253

Relevant Link

Pinney Associates website

TobaccoTactics Resources

Relevant Link

Pinney Associates website

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

References

  1. ↑Pinney Associates, website, undated, accessed February 2025
  2. ↑PinneyAssociates, Our People: Senior Leadership, 2018, accessed January 2018
  3. ↑PinneyAssociates, Our Team, 2024, accessed February 2025
  4. ↑J. Henningfield, Global Nicotine Reduction Strategy. Personal Insights on the View From FDA and the WHO TobReg Study Group, Presented at CORESTA Congress, Berlin, 11 October 2016, accessed November 2017
  5. ↑PinneyAssociates, Tobacco harm reduction, 2017, accessed July 2018
  6. ↑abPR Newswire, PinneyAssociates and Subsidiary Enter into Product Development and Consulting Agreements with Subsidiaries of Reynolds American Inc., 19 February 2015, accessed November 2017
  7. ↑PinneyAssociates, Tobacco harm reduction, website, archived September 2019, accessed May 2021
  8. ↑abJ.R. Hughes, K.O Fagerstrom, J. Henningfield et al, Why we work with the tobacco industry, letter to the editor, Addiction, 114, 374-377, doi:10.1111/add.14461
  9. ↑PinneyAssociates, Tobacco harm reduction, website, archived September 2019, accessed May 2021
  10. ↑B. Bonevski, Why some researchers choose not to work with the tobacco industry, Addiction, Letter to the Editor, 15 October 2018, doi:10.1111/add.14471
  11. ↑W. Hall, Finding acceptable ways to fund research on e-cigarettes, Addiction, Letter to the Editor, 15 October 2018, doi:10.1111/add.14465
  12. ↑J. Taylor Hays, R.D. Hurt, Why we will never work with the tobacco industry, Addiction, Letter to the Editor, 11 February 2019, doi:10.1111/add.14582
  13. ↑O. Barnes, Altria exits vaping group Juul after stake plummets in value, Financial Times, 4 March 2023, accessed June 2023 (behind paywall)
  14. ↑Altria Exchanges Minority Stake in JUUL Labs for Heated Tobacco Intellectual Property Rights, press release, 3 March 2023, accessed June 2023
  15. ↑PinneyAssociates, Tobacco harm reduction, 2024, accessed December 2024
  16. ↑abcdJ. Gitchell, “Invitation to Camel Snus MRTPA briefing in Baltimore”. Email to undisclosed public health experts, dated 19 January 2018, 18:33
  17. ↑CORESTA, 2017 CORESTA Joint Study Groups Meeting, Kitzbühel Austria, 8-12 October, Smoke Science and Product Technology, CORESTA website, accessed July 2018
  18. ↑CORESTA, Who We Are, website, undated, accessed June 2020
  19. ↑S.A. Bialous, D. Yach, Whose standard is it anyway? How the tobacco industry determines the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for tobacco and tobacco products, Tobacco Control, 2001;10:96-104
  20. ↑CORESTA, A presentation of CORESTA, updated April 2020, accessed June 2021
  21. ↑CORESTA, The CORESTA Board (2020-2022), website, undated, archived January 2021, accessed June 2021)
  22. ↑CORESTA, Abstracts. Search: Pinney, accessed  May 2021
  23. ↑S. Shiffman, G. Curtin, Consumers’ perceptions of disease-specific modified-risk claims are best evaluated in a disease-specific manner, CORESTA Congress, Kunming, 2018: Smoke Science/Product Technology Groups (also presented at TSRC 2018)
  24. ↑S. Shiffman, G. Curtin, Comparing direct and indirect assessments of perceptions of reduced risk for a modified-risk tobacco product, CORESTA Congress, Kunming, 2018: Smoke Science/Product Technology Groups (also presented at TSRC 2018)
  25. ↑M.M. Kim, S. Shiffman, M. Sembower, Comparisons of dependence on cigarettes and e-cigarettes: data from the path study, TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2018, 72, abstr. 030
  26. ↑M.M. Kim, S. Shiffman, M. Sembower, Use patterns and tobacco use histories among users of diverse vapor products: cigalikes, tanks, and other vapor products, TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2018, 72, abstr. 031
  27. ↑G. Curtin, S. Shiffman, J. Rohay, S. Pype, TSRC, Trends in US smokers’ perceptions of the relative risks of non-combustible tobacco products versus cigarettes, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2018, 72, abstr. 036
  28. ↑S. Shiffman, G. Curtin, Comparing direct and indirect assessments of perceptions of reduced risk for a modified-risk tobacco product, TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2018, 72, abstr. 038 (also presented at CORESTA 2018)
  29. ↑S. Shiffman, G.M. Curtin, Consumers’ perceptions of disease-specific modified-risk claims are best evaluated in a disease-specific manner, Tobacco Science Research Conference, 2018, 72, abstr. 039 (also presented at CORESTA 2018)
  30. ↑G. Curtin, A. Bachand, S. Sulsky, et al, Addressing U.S. FDA’s population health standard for Camel Snus with modified risk messaging, CORESTA meeting, Smoke Science/Product Technology, 2017. Kitzbühel, ST 39
  31. ↑S. Shiffman, M. Sembower, M. Kim, et al, Flavored e-cigarette use among U.S. adults: results from two national surveys, CORESTA meeting, Smoke Science/Product Technology, 2017. Kitzbühel, ST 50
  32. ↑S. Shiffman, M. Sembower, M. Kim, et al, Variations in intensity of e-cigarette use, smoking history, and demographics among past-30-day e-cigarette users, CORESTA meeting, Smoke Science/Product Technology, 2017. Kitzbühel, ST 51
  33. ↑K. Frost-Pineda, J. Pillitteri, S. Shiffment, et al, Comprehension and perceptions of reduced risk information for camel snus, TSRC, Tob. Sc. Res. Conf., 2017, 71, abst. 108
  34. ↑G.M. Curtin, K. Gerlach, S. Shiffman, Reduced risk information for camel snus: projecting likelihoods of use among current smokers, former smokers and never tobacco users, TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2017, 71, abstr. 109
  35. ↑A. Bachand, S.I. Sulsky, S. Shiffman, et al, Modeling the population health effects of Camel snus with reduced risk information, TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2017, 71, abstr.110
  36. ↑J.E. Henningfield, What is the rationale behind TobReg’s “Global nicotine reduction strategy”?, CORESTA Congress, Berlin, 2016, Plenary Session, APSTW 01
  37. ↑S. Shiffman, K.K. Gerlach, Design and implementation of pre- and post-marketing surveillance for tobacco products, Tobacco Science Research Conference, 2016, 70, abstract.03 Symposium
  38. ↑S. Shiffman, Introduction to statistical population modeling of tobacco products and their impact on health, CORESTA Meeting, Smoke Science/Product Technology, 2019, Hamburg
  39. ↑C. Acquadero/CORESTA, A consortium approach for consumer-reported outcome measures to assess tobacco- and nicotine-containing products, CORESTA Meeting, Smoke Science/Product Technology, 2019, Hamburg, accessed June 2021
  40. ↑C. Acquadero/CORESTA, A consortium approach for consumer-reported outcome measures for assessing tobacco and nicotine-containing products, CROM Symposium, Online, 2020, archived February 2021, accessed June 2021
  41. ↑R.A. Black, S. Shiffman, M.J. Hannon, Measurement matters: psychometric analysis of the PATH Youth Dependence Scale, CROM Symposium, Online, 2020, accessed June 2021
  42. ↑abcdB.A. Kleykamp, Objectivity and Evidence in the 2016 Surgeon General’s Report on E-Cigarettes, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 20, Issue 8, 9 July 2018, Pages 1031-1032.doi:10.1093/ntr/ntx156
  43. ↑U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2016, accessed June 2021
  44. ↑PinneyAssociates, Tobacco harm reduction, website, archived August 2020, accessed May 2021
  45. ↑ab American Journal of Health Behavior, JUUL Special Issue, Volume 45, Number 3, May 2021
  46. ↑S. Shiffman, E. Augustson, Introduction to the Special Issue on JUUL Use, American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 45, Number 3, May 2021, pp. 397-401(5), doi: 10.5993/AJHB.45.3.1
  47. ↑I. Torjesen, Academic journal is criticised for publishing special issue funded by tobacco industry, BMJ, 14 May 2021; 373:n1247 doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1247
  48. ↑S. Kaplan, Juul Is Fighting to Keep Its E-Cigarettes on the U.S. Market, The New York Times, 5 July 2020 (behind paywall)
  49. ↑D. Reuter, Juul spent more than $50,000 to have a medical journal run an entire issue of pro-vaping studies funded by the company, Business Insider, 7 July 2021, accessed July 2021
  50. ↑A. Zilber, Juul paid $51k for an entire science journal where EVERY article presented evidence that vaping ‘helps smokers quit cigarettes’, Daily Mail, 20 July 2021, accessed July 2021
  51. ↑Arielle Selya PhD, GitHub profile, accessed June 2024
  52. ↑A. Selya, The “Gateway” hypothesis: evaluation of evidence and alternative explanations, Harm Reduction Journal, 2024 Jun 7;21(1):113, doi: 10.1186/s12954-024-01034-6
  53. ↑C. Hajat, E.Stein, A. Selya, et al., Analysis of common methodological flaws in the highest cited e-cigarette epidemiology research, International Emergency Medicine, 2022, 17:887-909, doi:10.1007/s11739-022-02967-1

Categories