Apple Removes All Vaping-Related Apps From the App Store

Since vaping products began gaining popularity, there have been a number of cases this year involving lung disease linked to vaping products. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that at least 42 people in the United States have died from cases of acute lung injury associated with vaping devices, with the youngest victim only 17 years old.

As public concern over the health risks of vaping continues to grow, Apple recently announced that it will remove all apps related to vaping from its App Store. Of course, users who have already installed vaping-related apps on their iPhones will still be able to use them.

In fact, Apple has never allowed the sale of vaping devices or e-liquid refill packs through any app. However, there were still around 180 vaping-related apps on the Apple App Store, some of which allowed users to control the temperature of vaping devices, while others provided vaping-related news, social networking, and games.

An Apple spokesperson said: “Recently, experts ranging from the Centers for Disease Control to the American Heart Association have attributed various lung injuries and deaths to e-cigarettes and vaping products, even describing the spread of these devices as a public health crisis and a youth epidemic. We agree with these concerns, and we have updated our App Store Review Guidelines. Effective today, these apps will no longer be available for download.”

If readers have any thoughts on Apple’s move, feel free to share them in the comments.