Apple bans all vaping apps from the App Store

AP

Apple CEO Tim Cook.

• Apple is banning all 181 vaping-related apps from its App Store, according to a report from Axios, with the ban coming into force today.
• The tech giant's decision comes amid increasing public concern over the health risks posed by e-cigarettes. A report published on Thursday from the CDC said that 42 people in the US have died from lung injury associated with e-cigarette use.
• Apple told Axios it agreed with the CDC's findings, and has therefore decided to act.
• However Apple also says people who already have a vaping-related app on their iPhone will be able to continue using it and install it on new devices, Axios reported.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple has removed all vaping-related apps from its App Store, with the removal coming into force from today.

According to Axios, the tech giant has acted in the wake of a troubling report from the CDC published Thursday, which concluded that 42 people in the US have died from lung injury associated with e-cigarette use.

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Apple said it agreed with the CDC's findings and had banned the apps as part of its attempt to keep the App Store safe for all consumers, and especially the teens who might consider vaping. Per Axios, Apple has never allowed apps that let you order vape cartridges directly. But there's a range of other apps on offer related to vaping, which control vape pens or offer vaping-related games or content.

An Apple statement sent to Axios read: "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 CDC to the American Heart Association have attributed a variety of lung injuries and fatalities to e-cigarette and vaping products, going so far as to call the spread of these devices a public health crisis and a youth epidemic."

Associated Press

E-cigarettes are increasingly controversial due to suspected health risks.

The statement continued: "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."

However, Apple isn't going so far as to clamp down on existing users of vaping apps. Anyone who already has a vaping-related app downloaded to their device will continue being able to use it, Axios reported.

Vaping, once seen as a relatively benign alternative to smoking, has been the subject of growing public concern in recent months. A recent spate of vaping-related illnesses and deaths in the US has raised alarm, though the exact cause of the deaths has not yet been established.

Thursday's CDC's report added that, as of November 13, over 2,ooo cases of "e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury" have been reported to it from 49 states, excluding Alaska.

Business Insider has contacted Apple for comment.