Concerned about minors addicted to e-cigarettes, the Illinois attorney general’s office has filed suit against Juul Labs, maker of the Juul e-cigarette and Juul pods that lead the e-cig market.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the lawsuit also intends to hold Juul responsible for allegedly misrepresenting its products as a smoking cessation device. The lawsuit alleges Juul Labs has committed consumer fraud.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved of Juul products among its sanctioned devices to help consumers stop smoking cigarettes.

Even though customers must be over 18 years old to purchase e-cigarettes, a recent government survey indicated one in four high school students participates in vaping, said the Tribune.

The Illinois lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Dec. 12. The lawsuit accuses Juul of having “had a central role in undoing years of work by government agencies and anti-tobacco activists in order to addict a whole new generation to nicotine.”

Raoul said in a news conference to announce the filing of the lawsuit that “in high schools, even middle schools, they are now referring to the restroom as the vaping room.”

For years, Juul has marketed sweet, fruit-flavored e-cigarette vaping juices that appeal to young people, says the lawsuit. The Juul vaping device itself looks almost identical to a USB jump drive, which allows the device to often escape detection by parents and teachers alike.

According to Juul’s website, the company suspended selling flavors such as Mango, Fruit, Cucumber and Crème in retail settings and followed up by halting online sales of those flavors, as well. The company continues to sell Virginia Tobacco flavor in a 5 percent or 3 percent nicotine strength, Menthol flavor in a 5 percent nicotine strength, and Classic Tobacco in 5 percent nicotine strength.

New Generation Addicted to E-cigarettes

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, vaping at a young age may cause preteens and teens to go on to use other nicotine products, such as cigarettes, that are proven to cause various diseases and premature death. The institute cites one study that indicated that youth who had begun using e-cigarettes by the time they started their freshman year of high school were more likely to smoke cigarettes within the next year.

The Illinois lawsuit alleges that Juul was “deceptively marketing” the e-cigarette device and vaping flavors to an underage audience through a variety of social media channels.

According to WTTW, Chicago’s local PBS channel, Raoul said that Juul’s own instructions included with the device appear to be targeting a crowd of non-smokers who could become addicted to e-cigarettes.

“‘First take a small puff to get a feel for the vapor. Then ease into inhaling. Like any new experience, Juul may take some getting used to.’ And in bold, ‘If it feels too harsh, try inhaling less and puffing more gently. Don’t give up. You’ll find your perfect puff,’” Raoul said at the press conference as he read from Juul’s instructions.

“Clearly, those aren’t words (that) accompany (a product) trying to get people to stop a bad habit. Those are words of trying to entice people, in particular young people to start bad a habit,” Raoul alleged.

As the attorney general’s office continues to investigate e-cigarette marketing and use, Raoul said the spread of a lung illness linked to vaping continues to concern his investigators. More than 200 Illinois residents have been hospitalized and five have died of the mysterious lung illness, say Illinois state health officials.

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