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Review
. 2024 Jan 22;26(2):118-125.
doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntad151.

Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco as an Outgrowth of the 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction: Reflections of the Early Presidents

Ovide F Pomerleau  1 , Neal L Benowitz  2 , Maxine L Stitzer  3 , Jack E Henningfield  4 , Dorothy K Hatsukami  5 , William A Corrigall  6 , Kenneth A Perkins  7 , Harry A Lando  8
Affiliations
Review

Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco as an Outgrowth of the 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction: Reflections of the Early Presidents

Ovide F Pomerleau et al. Nicotine Tob Res. .

Abstract

Introduction: The Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco began in the United States as a scientific organization "to stimulate the generation and dissemination of new knowledge concerning nicotine and tobacco in all its manifestations." Now in its 30th year, the Society is taking on new challenges in tobacco control, nicotine vaping, product regulation, and public policy.

Aims and methods: This Review describes the formative years of the Society from the perspective of researchers who were in leadership positions during that time, documenting how biobehavioral and clinical research in the first 10 years was a continuation of the scientific mission of the 1988 United States Surgeon General's Report on Nicotine Addiction and summarizing organizational innovations during each president's term of office.

Conclusions: The Society's promotion of scientific research served as a catalyst for funding, policy, and regulation, setting the stage for its influence and credibility.

Implications: This Commentary provides context and an overview of the scientific research and the organizational innovations that occurred during the early years of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco using publications and available documentation. The Society was able to thrive because biobehavioral research on nicotine addiction provided the scientific underpinnings for the tobacco control enterprise as a whole. The objective of this Commentary is to describe formative events in the Society's history based on the accomplishments of its early leaders.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ovide F. Pomerleau. No conflicts of interest. Neal L. Benowitz. Dr. Benowitz has been a consultant to pharmaceutical companies that market or are developing smoking-cessation medications, and has been an expert witness in litigation against tobacco companies. Maxine L. Stitzer. Dr. Stitzer has served as a consultant to PEAR Therapeutics and DynamiCare Health, two companies that have developed and marketed phone apps for delivery of substance abuse treatment. Jack E. Henningfield. Jack Henningfield is an employee of PinneyAssociates, Inc. which provides scientific and regulatory consulting support for new drug applications for CNS-active drug products including psychedelic substances, new chemical entities, alternative formulations, as well as dietary ingredient notifications, and cannabinoid assessment. In addition, PinneyAssociates provides consulting services to advance tobacco harm reduction on an exclusive basis for JUUL Labs, Inc. Dr Henningfield also provides expert witness testimony on behalf of JUUL. Dr. Henningfield received no financial support for writing this article and no external commercial interests had any input. Dorothy K. Hatsukami. No conflicts of interest. William A. Corrigall. No conflicts of interest. Kenneth A. Perkins. No conflicts of interests. Harry A. Lando. No conflicts of interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Estimates of annual nicotine and tobacco research funding—primarily extramural research grants—were provided by National Institute on Drug Abuse upon request by the authors and are based on title, terms, and abstract searches of projects listed within the NIH RePORTER system.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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