Rujvi Thakka is recognized with a mayoral proclamation in the City of Fairfax.
Langley High School senior Rujvi Thakkar is battling the teen vaping crisis with an unconventional weapon: social media. Her initiative, CleanLungs, she said, launched in April 2025, has earned more than 3 million views on TikTok and Instagram. The group's digital success, coupled with local partnerships, represents a new peer-to-peer strategy against rising teen substance use.
The student-led advocacy campaign leverages authentic, relatable content, attracting more than 21,000 followers and establishing a continuous educational resource. This approach, which focuses on the lived experience of addiction, is proving to be highly effective.
Thakkar explained that she is driven by the firsthand impact of nicotine use on her peers. She created CleanLungs to address the lack of public understanding of the long-term effects of newer vaping products.
"A lot of younger people have access to nicotine, and that is one reason why it spreads,” Thakkar said, framing her mission as an urgent educational need.
She points out that many students are unaware of the potency of what they use. "Just one vape pod contains the same nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes,” according to her website, www.teamcleanlungs.com
For Thakkar, the movement is personal. The senior felt compelled to act after seeing friends struggle to quit without support. “I’ve had friends struggle with nicotine addiction, and I’ve seen how hard it is to quit when no one is talking about it without judgment,” she states on the organization’s website.
In addition to her viral online presence, Thakkar said her in-person efforts include workshops and the distribution of more than 500 prevention kits, a commitment recently recognized with a mayoral proclamation in the City of Fairfax. She has reached more than 1,600 students across Virginia to raise critical awareness about youth vaping and nicotine addiction.
The initiative’s rapid expansion, in partnership with local groups like 10-7 Farms, demonstrates a successful new peer-to-peer strategy for tackling the growing crisis of teen substance use.
Thakkar is now focused on the next phase of CleanLungs: expanding outreach in college towns to address substance use at the post-secondary level.
Ultimately, her core message remains one of empowerment for her peers. “The most important thing is knowing that it’s bad for you and knowing that you are in control of your own decisions,” Thakkar said, signaling that her advocacy is just beginning.