What you need to know
- PAX has issued a press release stating that it hopes Apple will reconsider its decision to purge apps related to vaping from its App Store.
- In particular, it hopes that it will make the PAX Mobile App available in the interest of public safety.
- PAX says that it wants consumers in legal states to have access to important information in order to control their cannabis experience.
Vape tech organization PAX has issued a press release in which it urges Apple to reconsider its decision to remove its app, along with 180 others, from the App Store.
Last week, November 15, it emerged that Apple had taken the decision to ban 181 vaping-related apps from its App Store, citing health concerns over e-cigarettes. One such app was the Pax Mobile app. PAX is an offshoot of Juul, focused specifically on vaping for cannabis and other plant-based materials. In its press release it said:
We respect Apple's leadership on important issues and commitment to ensuring that the App Store is a trusted place for consumers. However, we are concerned by this decision which, in the middle of a public health crisis tied to the illicit cannabis market, will prevent consumers in legal states from having access to important information and the ability to better control their cannabis experience. We hope to work in partnership with Apple to reconsider this decision and make our App available, in the interest of public health and safety.
PAX goes on to say that it is committed to delivering technology which will educate adults, and allow them to make informed choices. It further states that millions of consumers in 34 legal states rely on PAX Mobile to control their use of PAX products, setting the correct temperature of their device, and using lockout abilities to prevent children from using the devices.
Last Tuesday, we announced our new PodID™ feature, which—in light of the current threats posed by the illicit market—provides consumers with unprecedented access to information about what's in their pods, including strain information, cannabinoid and terpene profiles, access to state-regulated test results and more.
PAX said that it was continuing to work with Apple on a path forward, but, as noted in the initial report, anyone who has already downloaded PAX Mobile App on iOS would continue to have access to it. It concluded by saying that the issue was about "doing the right thing for our consumers by creating technology that puts information at their fingertips."
In a statement regarding the initial decision to ban vaping apps, Apple said:
"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."
Whilst PAX says it is in talks with Apple, it seems unlikely that Apple would be able (or willing) to backtrack on the blanket ban or provide special treatment to one such app in particular. Apple will likely be wary that any suggestion that it is willing to negotiate with individual developers would surely spur all of them to reach out to Apple, defeating the point of the ban in the first place. Apple has never allowed apps that let users purchase e-cigarettes or vape cartridges on its App Store, and it stopped allowing new apps that promote vaping onto the App Store in June of this year.
