{"id":27284,"date":"2019-11-18T16:05:45","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T21:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=27284"},"modified":"2020-10-20T14:35:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T18:35:33","slug":"vaping-apps-removed-from-app-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/18\/vaping-apps-removed-from-app-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaping Apps Removed From App Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Rossignol<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Apple is removing all vaping-related apps from the App Store<\/a> today, according to Axios<\/em>, shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,172 lung injury cases linked to e-cigarette or vape products<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Apple had already took a step in this direction in June, when it updated its App Store Review Guidelines<\/a> to indicate that apps encouraging consumption of vape products are not permitted on the App Store.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The benefits and the health risks of e-cigarettes are uncertain. There is tentative evidence they may help people quit smoking, although they have not been proven to be more effective than smoking cessation medicine. There is concern with the possibility that non-smokers and children may start nicotine use with e-cigarettes at a rate higher than anticipated than if they were never created.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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The stuff about selling cartridges, and sharing news — it’s fine for that stuff to be out of the App Store because you can get it on the web. But Bluetooth stuff where apps were used as the interface for controlling hardware — web apps can’t do that (nor should they be able to). There is no alternative to a native app, and native apps are only available on the App Store. This would be an easy call to make (and would have been made from the get-go by Apple) if vaping were illegal. But it’s not illegal.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Update (2019-11-26): Steve Troughton-Smith<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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There are all kinds of modern hardware ecosystems that literally do nothing if not paired with a smartphone app, like some scooter brands. Apple does not get to unilaterally make calls like this, and I hope they get crucified in upcoming antitrust cases<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The Macalope<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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It’s worth pointing out that the canisters that did contain cyanide were counterfeit. The Macalope just checked his local liquor store and we haven’t banned alcohol sales because prison wine blinded some people. He also checked the App Store and we haven’t banned mixology apps, either. But one of the apps Apple banned actually checked canisters to see if they were counterfeit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Ben Thompson<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Those apps — and by extension, device functionality — are no longer available to iPhone users— you can’t get this level of functionality in a browser — not because regulators ruled them illegal, or because Congress passed a law, but because a group of technology executives said so. And, what they said held sway because the App Store is integrated with the iPhone: Apple has a monopoly on what apps can or cannot be installed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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As it stands today, tobacco and marijuana are OK in the App Store if you smoke them but banned if you vape them. That distinction seems impossible to defend, other than by noting that vaping is a hot topic in the news, and cigarettes and weed baroning are not.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n