Just recently, Apple went on to remove all the 181 vaping apps which were spread across its App Store. Axios was the first one to break the story, which heard from an inside source that Apple did indeed plan this move. The company’s decision is in response to the growing health concerns as well as the severe criticism that the e-cigarette industry has been on the receiving end of – in recent times.
This news though doesn’t come with too much of a surprise, as two years ago, Apple blocked any new vaping apps that were applying for an empty slot in the App Store. Hence many had predicted that it was always going to be only a matter of time before even the already-established apps would get the boot.
While we’re having this discussion, consider the fact that Apple hasn’t ever allowed apps on its App Store which are primarily designed for buying and selling of e-cigarette cartridges and/or e-cigarette pens. The apps which have been removed were actually designed for controlling e-cigarette functions that included temperature or perhaps powering up the device on and off.
While the apps will not be available for new downloads, they will continue to function for all those users who already have them within their device – while there will also be the possibility of transfer when such users upgrade to a new device.
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Now that Apple has cleared up its stance as far as the e-cigarette industry is concerned, it won’t be too surprising to see Google making its move either. There are many hundreds of vaping apps to be found on the Google Play Store and for now, Google is still allowing new submissions of vaping-related programs.
Apple though has made very clear its opinions over the e-cigarette industry as a whole, claiming : “We take great care to curate the App Store as a trusted place for customers, particularly youth, to download apps. We’re constantly evaluating apps, and consulting the latest evidence, to determine risks to users’ health and well-being. Recently, experts ranging from the CDX to the American Heart Association have attributed a variety of lung injuries and fatalities to e-cigarette and vaping products, going as far as to call the spread of these devices a public health crisis and a youth epidemic. We agree and we’ve updated our App Store Review Guidelines to reflect that apps encouraging or facilitating the use of these products are not permitted. As of today, these apps are no longer available to download.”
