Gurnee Teen Sick From Vaping Almost 'Didn't Make It To Hospital'

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — A Gurnee teen is hospitalized at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, and his parents tell WLS it's due to a lung infection from vaping. According to the news report, the family of 18-year-old Adam Hergenreder said his initial symptoms were two days of "uncontrollable vomiting," and he almost didn't make it to the hospital. The teen says he has used about one and a half Juul pods a day for the last year and a half.

According to his doctors, Hergenreder can't go home until he can breathe on his own, and months of therapy will follow, WLS reported. But being in the hospital isn't stopping the family from taking on the vaping community, according to WLS.

Hergenreder told WLS he didn't know what nicotine was, or what vape juice is.

Related:

• Probes Of E-cigarette Giant Juul Underway In Illinois, DC'
• 'Deceptive' Juul Labs Center Of Lake Co. State's Attorney Lawsuit
• Death Linked To Vaping: IL Patient With Respiratory Illness Dies
• Vaping Hospitalizes 9 With Severe Breathing Problems In Illinois

A complaint filed last month by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office claims e-cigarette provider Juul Labs has manipulated teens via "deceptive" marketing ads in an effort for teens to become hooked on nicotine-aided e-cigarettes.

The attorneys general in Illinois and the District of Columbia are investigating how the company's vaping device became so popular with underage teens.