Apple bans all iPhone vaping apps in health crackdown on e-cigarettes
Apple has banned all iPhone vaping apps - even ones which are used to control devices, in a sweeping crackdown on vaping.
The move came after 42 deaths and 2,000 cases of lung injury associated with vaping in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Donald Trump discussed a ban on flavoured e-liquids amid rising concerns over the safety of the products.
Apple has removed 181 vaping apps from the app store globally.
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The tech company said apps already downloaded will continue to work and will be transferable to new device purchases - although it has caused outrage among users.
Fresh fears recently came to light in the UK after a 19-year-old almost died from a "catastrophic respiratory illness" for which doctors said vaping was to blame.
While evidence continues to be published on risks associated with vaping, scientists remain divided - Public Health England (PHE) stands by its claim that vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking.
Vaping apps - which Apple claims only accounted for 0.00010% of the 1.8 million apps on the App Store - vary from platforms to control things like the temperature of an e-cigarette device, to offering vaping news.
"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," a spokesman said.
"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.
