A young woman who turned her hospital bed into a digital pulpit to warn against the dangers of vaping has died of respiratory failure.
Escarlen De los Santos told her followers “look at me now” before her untimely passing.
The 30-year-old died in hospital of severe pulmonary complications on Wednesday (22 Apr).
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Medical experts linked her deteriorating health to prolonged use of vapes and hookahs.
Escarlen, who came from Los Hatillos in 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”.
In one of her final videos, she warned her followers: “Leave that stuff alone, look at me now.
“I don’t want anyone else to go through this physical torment.”
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, as reported by Need To Know.
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.
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