Apple to remove vaping apps from the App Store

According to a report from Axios, Apple is going to remove apps that control vaping products from the App Store. 

Apple has never allowed apps that allow a person to purchase vaping related products, but there are many apps made to be used in conjunction with them (to control time, temperature, lighting, and so on). Other related apps to get the axe include vaping-themed social networking and news apps. If you have such an app already installed it will continue to work, however.

Apple issued the following statement to Axios:

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.

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.