A new Illinois lawsuit is putting the already criticized vaping company Juul Labs in even more hot water.

Lake County State's Attorney's Office filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, and it's accusing Juul on preying on the youth through marketing campaigns.

The lawsuit points to a social media campaign that's gone viral on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The campaign encourages people to take a picture of themselves with the product and post it using the Juul hashtag.

The State Attorney's Office says ads like this convey messages of peer acceptance by using Juul. According to the lawsuit, these ads use young models in a party setting, effectively luring kids into smoking with the promise popularity.

Juul released a statement saying it's never marketed to youth and has exited Instagram and Facebook. A spokesperson says the company strongly advocates for Tobacco 21 legislation, has enhanced their online age-verification process and stopped the sale of non-tobacco Juulpods in traditional retail stores.

But last month House lawmakers accused the company of being behind the vaping craze among high-schoolers. And just a couple of days ago, the Illinois Department of Public Health released a statement that warned hospitalizations, possibly due to vaping, are increasing.

The state's lawsuit comes as experts call vaping among teens an epidemic.

In Illinois, six teens were hospitalized due to respiratory issues linked to vaping. In Wisconsin, there were 11 similar cases.

Right now, doctors are encouraging parents to talk about the dangers of using an e-cigarette.