A Syracuse University student is suing e-cigarette maker Juul after a stroke left him in the hospital for 100 days.

Maxwell Berger first started using Juul products in mid-2015, when he was about 17 or 18 years old, according to the lawsuit. He was going through two pods each day--which is the nicotine equivalent of two packs of cigarettes.

Leslie J. Kohman, Professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, says the product was originally intended for current smokers looking for an alternative to cigarettes. But she says the advertising would prove otherwise

"Juuling is an extremely effective way to addict children to nicotine,” she said.

And Maxwell Berger's case is proof. In 2017, just two years after he started using the products, Berger suffered from “catastrophic and permanent injuries,” according to the lawsuit. These include a massive hemorrhagic stroke, three brain surgeries, left side paralysis, 50 percent loss of vision, cognitive impairments, and more.

The lawsuit says this was a “direct and proximate” result of the products.

Kein Trease, Community Education Coordinator for The Prevention Network, first came across the case in a Forbes article. He frequently addresses groups of young students, and urges them not to use these products.

"A lot of the dangers that we have been trying to tell young adults that there are with e-cigarettes, this kind of brings some of those to light,” he said.

Two-thirds of people who vape between the ages of 15 and 24 have no idea there is nicotine in the products they’re using, said Kohman.

"Everyone knows that cigarettes have nicotine in them,” she said. “Most kids have no idea that Juul has nicotine in it."

If you take a closer look at the Juul, you can see it is sleek and high-tech. It looks like a USB drive, and fits in the palm of your hand and your pocket. It's discreet, and can't really be smelled.

The lawsuit claims advertisements made Juuling seem fun, healthy, and cool to Berger.

"The way that they advertise those as far as flavors go and as far as the coolness around actually using these types of things, you can go on Youtube and find entire channels about competitions with blowing and all of that type of stuff,” said Trease.

Kohlman says governments and communities need to do their part.

"We have to get it out of their hands,” she said.

But the number of young adults addicted to nicotine continues to grow in New York State, according to the Department of Health.

Juul has not responded to our request for comment.