A 30-year-old woman from the Dominican Republic used her final moments to issue a stark warning against vaping, which she blamed for her respiratory failure and subsequent death.
Escarlen De los Santos, from Los Hatillos, told her followers four words — 'look at me now' — as she lay in a hospital bed, referring to her rapid physical deterioration. She passed away shortly after on Wednesday due to severe pulmonary complications linked by doctors to prolonged use of vapes and hookahs.
Final Plea from Hospital Bed
In one of her last videos, recorded as she struggled to breathe, Escarlen said: 'Leave that stuff alone, look at me now. I don't want anyone else to go through this physical torment.' Despite being gravely ill, she made it her mission to warn others, filming a series of harrowing videos that have since gone viral across Latin America.
Appearing frail and fighting for breath, she pleaded with young people to abandon the habit that was 'destroying her from the inside' and to instead take up exercise and fresh air.
Rising Concerns Over Vaping
Her death has reignited debate about the lack of oversight on nicotine delivery systems in the Caribbean nation. It follows the recent death of 22-year-old Frank Sosa in the same municipality, suggesting a potential public health cluster of vaping-related lung injuries.
The Dominican Ministry of Public Health is now under mounting pressure from community leaders to implement stricter age controls and health warnings on vaping products to prevent further loss of life.
Similar Cases Abroad
The case echoes that of Kayley Boda, a 22-year-old retail assistant from Manchester, who was given 18 months to live after her own vaping habit. She began coughing up a brown substance with 'grainy bits' in January 2025 after using one 600-puff vape per week. She has since undergone surgery to remove half her right lung and is crowdfunding for a clinical trial in Germany.
Kayley said: 'Before the diagnosis, I was very naive and thought that something like this would never happen to me. I had surgery to remove half of my right lung and after the surgery, I started chemo and I had a terrible reaction to it. I couldn't lift my head up, I was throwing up blood, I was urinating blood.'
Health officials are increasingly concerned about a spike in vaping-related lung injuries, urging users to be aware of the potential dangers.
