Apple To Ban Vaping Apps From Its Store

Source from:  The New York Times 11/18/2019

A respiratory condition linked to vaping has caused more than 40 deaths and over 2,000 illnesses, according to United States health authorities.

Apple removed 181 vaping apps from its online store on Friday, following the lead of federal, state and local regulators, which in recent months have cracked down on e-cigarette products.

The prohibition affects apps that help people find vape stores or flavors, allow them to control their vape pens, or gain access to games, news or social networks that promote vaping.

Apple’s vaping app ban is the second significant step the iPhone maker has taken to distance itself from e-cigarettes. The company updated its App Store rules in June to ban new vaping apps, and the move announced on Friday removed the apps it had approved before that decision. The company said it had never allowed apps that sold vaping products.

In a statement, Apple cited the rise of lung injuries and deaths linked to vaping. Health experts have recently called “the spread of these devices a public health crisis and a youth epidemic,” the company said. “We agree.”

Cases of vaping-related illnesses have been rising, with more than 40 deaths and more than 2,000 illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The C.D.C. has urged people to avoid vaping anything because the cause of illnesses remains unclear.

Apple’s vaping app ban reflects its hands-on approach to the App Store, which distributes about 1.8 million apps to iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices.

Apple requires its employees to manually review each app that applies to the store, encompassing about 100,000 apps a week. They reject about 40 percent. In a weekly meeting, a small team of top executives debate tricky cases of whether a given app belongs on Apple devices.

That approach has led to nuanced rules, an App Store with less fraud than other app marketplaces and criticism that Apple abuses its control of the marketplace.

In June, Apple added vaping to its ban on apps that encouraged the use of tobacco, illegal drugs or “excessive amounts of alcohol.” But Apple still allows cannabis-related apps, as long as they are restricted to adults and certain states and don’t offer sales or explicitly encourage recreational use.  Enditem