Jackson Cane
Staff Writer
As a result of recent crackdowns on e-cigarettes and vaping, Apple had no choice but to remove apps containing vaping needs or promoting it. Apple took down 181 “vaping” apps that helped consumers find vape stores or flavors, games or social networks promoting it, and allowing users to control their vape or pens. This ban was the second of its kind in relation to e-cigarettes and apps. In June, Apple updated its rules to ban new vaping apps from being accepted in the category with apps promoting excessive use of alcohol, use of tobacco, and illegal drugs. Yet now Apple banning all apps prior to the update in rules from June.
Apple has also released a statement in agreement with health experts, stating their belief on this so-called epidemic. Health experts calling “the spread of these devices a public health crisis and a youth epidemic,” as Apple responded, “We agree.” With deaths and illnesses on the rise over the past year deemed vaping related, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges people to stay away from vaping anything since the side effects are unclear.
After making an astute and smart choice for the wellbeing of the company, Apple now faces controversy and criticism from opposers of this ban. The majority of apps were stores advertising products, although users couldn’t purchase vape products from them, along with apps connected to the devices to change temperature and custom settings of vapes. Owners of the apps are still able to use it as of now, but will eventually experience problems as Apple continues to upgrade software and hardware in the future. As this might strike as unfair to consumers of the legal age, Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, made a statement regarding the ban and the youth, saying, “By taking e-cigarette related apps off the App Store, Apple will help reduce youth exposure to e-cigarette marketing and discourage youth use of these products.” Since the dawn of their beginning, Apple controls their apps and what is put in or out of the App Store, not the users. For this ongoing vaping relating epidemic, there are many unknowns in which only time tells to discover them.
