I don't think most people care that much about whether or not it has anything to do with Buddhism, and if anything a lot of the people "selling" mindfulness try to avoid the link, because it scares off a lot of people that don't want a religious practice (or don't want one associated with a religion other than "theirs").
I practice mindfulness, but I would never consider myself a buddhist - it took a "secularised" text to get me to pick it up (Mindfulness in Plain English; it's written by a buddhist monk, but makes clear from the beginning that it's a practical guide rather than a guide to the Buddhist spiritual background for mindfulness).