He smoked 30 cigarettes a day for 25 years.

Six years ago, Joseph Bergstrom realized he had to stop. He tried nicotine gum and slapped on patches, but he couldn’t kick the habit. He even tried to hypnosis to stop the addiction. It didn’t work.

But when he opted for an e-cigarette and began vaping, he swiftly ended his cigarette addiction, he claims.

Bergstrom is one of many adults who are struggling with the harsh rhetoric and calls for action surrounding vaping that is threatening what they see as life-altering for former smokers.

On Thursday, as he announced the creation of a task force to address vaping, Gov. Phil Murphy urged New Jersey residents to stop vaping.

"Don't vape until further notice,” he said. “Period."

But that’s not so easy for everyone.

While vaping has garnered national attention in recent weeks, specifically the “epidemic”of young people partaking, those who turned to e-cigarettes over cigarettes are standing by the product.

When Jeff Hartman saw his doctors a few years ago, they told him his pack-a-day habit since he was 14 years old had turned his lungs into those of an 80-year-old. He was then 57. He needed to try something healthier so he experimented with nicotine patches and other remedies but nothing worked.

“He tired vaping, and it worked,” said his wife, Kristy Hartman, who owns Middlesex Vapes and is on the board of the New Jersey Vapor Right Coalition. She said her husband’s doctors have encouraged his e-cigarette use as he is healthier than he was while smoking cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, but not tobacco found in regular cigarettes.

Kristy Hartman, who does not vape, said the comments by politicians in response to hundreds being hospitalized and six dying to vaping-related illnesses in recent weeks has been frustrating.

It is unclear what exactly is causing the illnesses, but The Washington Post reported last week that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials told state health officials that the same chemical found in samples of marijuana products were collected from patients who fell ill. The newspaper also reported that the FDA lab tests “found nothing unusual in nicotine products” that had been collected from sick patients.

“Everyone kind of jumped on it and went with it,” Hartman said about the illnesses. “Now, they are blaming vaping.”

And some are suggesting drastic measures. President Donald Trump announced his administration would move to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes, which opponents say have attracted teenagers. Adult vapers often also choose flavored vape products to rid the taste of tobacco.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said he is planning legislation that would phase in a statewide ban on the sale of vaping products in New Jersey.

“We think that all of this is misguided and based on what we consider to be a hysteria,” said Danish Iqbal, the president of the New Jersey Vapor Right Coalition.

While the illnesses have certainly fueled the discussion around vaping, the usage of e-cigarettes by young people has been a concern over the last couple years as e-cigarette use has increased by 78 percent from 2017 to 2018 among high school students, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In 2018, then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb described teenage vaping as an “epidemic.”

But adults who vape contend it is a healthier option than smoking cigarettes, which plays a major role in the nearly 500,000 annual tobacco-related deaths in the country. However, since vaping is a relatively new phenomenon, there is not definitive science outlining the health impact of e-cigarettes, or if they are even a healthier alternative to conventional smoking, experts say.

According to the National Center for Health Research, a nonpartisan think tank, there are no long-term studies that show e-cigarettes as less harmful than conventional smoke.

“Cancer takes years to develop, and e-cigarettes were only very recently introduced to the United States,” the center says. “It is almost impossible to determine if a product increases a person’s risk of cancer or not until the product has been around for at least 15-20 years.”

But those in the industry argue that research has already shown how deadly cigarettes are, making vaping an immediate solution.

"I think that if they try and prohibit vaping, it will create a bigger health crisis,” Hartman said. “People will go back to cigarettes and we know those kill people.”

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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