The 18-year-old teenager from Illinois, who suffers from lung disease after a year of vaping sues JUUL

An Illinois teenager with a lung disease after a vape of more than a year, sued Friday a major manufacturer of electronic cigarettes, accusing him of having deliberately advertised to young people and let them know that vaping was cool.

Lawyers brought a lawsuit in Lake County District Court on behalf of 18-year-old Adam Hergenreder, hospitalized late August about a week after he complained of nausea and breathing difficulties.

Juul Labs explained in lawsuits and social media campaigns that children could improve their social status by fainting. He also said that Juul would never fully disclose that his products contained dangerous chemicals.

"Frankly speaking, Adam had no chance of avoiding becoming addicted to these toxic time bombs," said Hergenreder's lawyer, Antonio Romanucci.

Hergenreder recently told the Chicago Tribune that he had started on the street buying homemade devices containing THC, the highly inducing ingredient of marijuana.

The ticket manufacturing companies say that black market devices, called sticks for tampons, should be held accountable for a series of hospitalizations.

Friday's trial did not directly raise this issue, particularly as to the possibility that makeshift devices containing THC could have caused or contributed to Hergenreder's disease.

Hergenreder, from Gurnee City, in the suburbs of Chicago, was released from the hospital on Sept. 6 with "significant lung damage," according to the lawsuit.

He appeared with his mother and lawyer at a press conference held on Friday morning to announce the dispute.

Juul, based in San Francisco, said Friday in a statement that he was "never sold to young people" and that he was running campaigns to combat the use of minors.

He added that his products are intended to help adult smokers break free from traditional paper and tobacco cigarettes, which Juul has described as "the most deadly legal consumer product known to man".

Among the precautions taken by Juul to prevent young people from turning to his electronic cigarettes, it was decided to close his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The company said it has also rolled out technology limiting sales until someone's age is checked.

The new lawsuit accused Juul of sometimes relying on indirect advertising aimed at children, including employing highly-followed social media users to promote Juul products in tweets or Instagram posts.

The lawsuit also quotes a service station in Waukegan as the defendant, accusing him of regularly selling Juul products made from nicotine Hergenreder while he was too young to buy them legally.

Federal law prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes and any other tobacco to persons under 18 years of age.

The lawsuit comes just days after President Donald Trump vowed to ban all flavored electronic cigarettes.

However, he later said that the government should target counterfeit devices.

"Although I like the alternative Vaping to cigarettes, we need to make sure this alternative is SAFE for EVERYONE!" the president tweeted on Friday.

"Let's keep the counterfeits out of the market and prevent Vaping's young children!

Trump said on Wednesday that his administration would ban thousands of perfumes used in electronic cigarettes, in response to the recent wave of vaping minors, which has alarmed parents, politicians and national health authorities.

The surprise White House announcement could help rebuild the multi-billion dollar vaping industry, driven by sales of nicotine-flavored formulas, such as "slushie grapes" and "candy cotton candy" ".

The Food and Drug Administration will develop guidelines to remove all the flavors of electronic cigarettes from the market, with the exception of tobacco, Health and Social Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters on Tuesday. an appearance before First Lady President Melania Trump and FDA Acting Commissioner Ned. Sharpless.

Melania Trump recently tweeted her concerns about the combination of children and vaping. At the meeting, the president said, "I mean, she has a son – together – he's a gorgeous young man and she feels very very strong there."

Trump's first public comment on vaping comes as health authorities investigate hundreds of reported respiratory illnesses among people who have used electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices.

A man from Illinois died in August after contracting a lung disease related to a vaping.

No devices, ingredients or additives have been identified, although many cases involve marijuana vaping.

The restrictions announced by Trump officials would only apply to nicotine vaping products, which are regulated by the FDA.

The FDA has the power to ban vaping flavors since 2016, but has already resisted calls to take this step.

The agency officials instead said they were studying whether the flavors could help smokers to quit the traditional cigarette.

But parents, teachers, and health advocates have increasingly called for a rigorous suppression of flavors, arguing that they are largely responsible for the explosion of juvenile spraying by American teens, particularly with small discreet devices like Juul's.

Federal health officials said on Wednesday that preliminary data indicated that more than one in four high school students had said they were vaping this year, compared to one in five in 2018.

Federal health officials have described this trend as an epidemic and fear that teenagers who abuse vape will start to smoke.

According to government surveys, over 80% of underage teenagers who use e-cigarettes say they have chosen their product because it "has my favorite flavors."

A ban on flavors would be a blow for companies like Juul, based in San Francisco, who sells nicotine pods with mint, fruit and desserts.

Juul and others have argued that their products are meant to help adult smokers wean themselves off traditional paper and tobacco cigarettes.

But a spokeswoman for Juul said in a statement that the company was "strongly" agreeing with the need for "aggressive action" on the flavors.

"We will fully comply with the FDA's final policy, if any," he said.

The Vapor Technology Association said in a statement that the ban on aromas would force smokers to "choose between smoking again … or finding what they want and what they need on the black market" .