Apple bans vaping apps from the App Store

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POLAND - 2019/10/29: In this photo illustration Google play store App logos displayed on a smartphone. (Photo by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In the aftermath of 42 deaths nationwide from vaping-related lung illnesses, Apple has decided to remove all 181 vaping-related apps from its mobile App Store as of Friday morning.

While the sale of vaping cartridges was never allowed through the App Store, the newly-banned apps are a mixture of games, store apps and hardware companion apps that allow users to regulate things like the lighting and heating of vape pens.

"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,” Apple said in a statement to Axios. “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."