Woman’s harrowing last four words as she dies of lung problems after vaping habit

Escarlen De los Santos, 30, used her last moments to warn her followers to stay off vapes and hookahs, because her habit led to her diagnosis of respiratory failure

A young woman used her final moments to warn her followers to ditch vapes — because they led to her diagnosis of respiratory issues.

Escarlen De los Santos told fans four words — “look at me now” — referring to her deterioration which led to her stay in hospital. The 30-year-old passed away moments later on Wednesday after her respiratory failure led to severe pulmonary complications.

Doctors in Los Hatillos in the Dominican Republic linked her deteriorating health to prolonged use of vapes and hookahs. With this knowledge, selfless Escarlen made it her mission to help others — despite her ill-health.

In one of her final videos, recorded as she lay in her hospital bed, Escarlen said: “Leave that stuff alone, look at me now. I don’t want anyone else to go through this physical torment.”

Escarlen, who came from the Dominican Republic, filmed a series of harrowing videos in her final days that have since gone viral across Latin America. Appearing frail and struggling to breathe, she pleaded with her generation to abandon the habit that she claimed was “destroying her from the inside”.

Her videos documented the harsh reality of respiratory failure, urging young people to trade vaping for exercise and fresh air. Her death has reignited a debate about the lack of oversight on nicotine delivery systems in the Caribbean nation.

Health officials are increasingly concerned about a spike in vaping-related lung injuries. Her passing followed the recent death of 22-year-old Frank Sosa in the same municipality, suggesting a burgeoning public health cluster.

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.

The case follows that of retail assistant Kayley Boda, who has been given 18 months to live after her own vaping habit. The 22-year-old woman was getting through one 600-puff a week when she started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in it in January 2025.

The young woman, from Manchester, was given the crushing diagnosis and is now raising money to pay for a clinical trial in Germany, to help prolong her life, and has issued a warning for others to be aware of the dangers of vaping.

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.”