LOVE Island legend Paul Danan had to be brought back to life after suffering respiratory failure triggered by his addiction to vapes.
The 45-year-old, who took up the habit after years of smoking, collapsed last month and had to be given CPR before he was rushed to hospital.
He then spent a week in intensive care, where he contracted pneumonia.
While in the high dependency unit at Whipps Cross hospital, East London, doctors warned his loved ones “he might not make it through the night”.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday, the former Hollyoaks actor, who was taken ill at his parents’ home, said: “I was dead — it’s a miracle I’m here.”
He added: “I’m upstairs puffing away on my vape then suddenly I lost my breath and collapsed. My family called for an ambulance and started giving me CPR, then police arrived and took over before paramedics took me to hospital. I was on a machine in ICU and ended up with pneumonia. My family were warned I might not make it through the night. I’m so lucky.”
Paul, who was in the original series of Celebrity Love Island in 2005, says he was told by doctors that his addiction to e-cigarettes sparked his collapse.
He explained: “The doctor was so, so harsh with me. She told me, ‘Paul, you don’t know how serious this was and you are going to be in here for a while now, on this oxygen’.
‘Over the edge’
“She said if I ever smoke in any form again I risk being linked to an oxygen tank later on in life. She said that’s it now.
“After years of smoking cigarettes and all sorts, it’s the vaping which has done me in. That pushed me over the edge.”
Paul, who is dad to son Deniro, eight, has battled drink and drugs in the past but has been sober for more than three years.
“She said if I ever smoke in any form again I risk being linked to an oxygen tank later on in life. She said that’s it now.
“After years of smoking cigarettes and all sorts, it’s the vaping which has done me in. That pushed me over the edge.”
Paul, dad to son Deniro, eight, has battled drink and drugs in the past but has been clean for more than three years.
I thought it was the safest way to smoke, as I didn’t want to use cigarettes any more
Paul
After quitting cigarettes in 2021, he became hooked on vapes, using them so much that he even went to bed holding one.
He says he was lured by their sweet flavours and a video suggesting they were healthier than cigarettes.
He explained: “I saw a YouTube video where someone blew cigarette smoke into cotton wool then did the same with a vape.
“The cotton wool turned black from the smoke from the cigarette, but the wool remained the same colour after the vape vapour hit it, and that experiment was supposed to symbolise the lungs.
“Off the back of that, in my head — because I have ADHD everything is very visual — I’ve always thought they’d be OK.
“I thought it was the safest way to smoke, as I didn’t want to use cigarettes any more.”
Vapes still contain nicotine, which is addictive, and potentially dangerous chemicals that can cause lung and organ damage.
Experts say vaping is better for users than smoking, but the NHS says it “is not completely harmless” and only recommends it for adult smokers trying to give up.
Paul’s addiction ramped up when he started using disposable vapes.
He said: “I got obsessed with them. Everywhere I went I’d have my vape with me. I’d always have one in my hand, I would even go to sleep with it, like a comfort thing.”
Paul, who has launched drama workshop Morning After Drama in Bristol, aimed at people affected by poor mental health, now wants to warn parents over the dangers.
He added: “I’m worried about the kids today, all you see is kids with vapes.
“When girls are at festivals they’re on the disposables and think it’s cool. It’s so upsetting.
Reality comeback
“And the problem is because of the sugar and the taste and nicotine, it’s going to be so hard for them to let go of that.”
Paul made his name on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks as tearaway teen Sol Patrick between 1997 and 2001.
After his success on Celebrity Love Island, he bagged his own ITV series with co-stars Calum Best and Fran Cosgrave, but his partying took its toll, sparking stints in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.
In 2017, he made his reality TV comeback in Celebrity Big Brother and also featured on Celebrity Coach Trip in 2022.
His brush with death has given him a new perspective on life, making him determined to lead a healthier one.
Now recovered, he is focusing on landing theatre roles and raising money for Little Havens children’s hospice in Essex.
Paul explained: “It was the kick up the a**e I needed and it really has worked.
“I feel like a different person and I’m ready to kick on with my career.
“I’m in the best place mentally I’ve been for ages and can’t wait to see what’s around the corner.”
