Last year, we reported on Life Unvaped as a newly launched, student-led effort responding to the growing normalization of vaping among teens in Santa Clarita. At the time, it was a passion project—driven by concern, urgency, and firsthand experience. One year later, Life Unvaped has evolved into a structured, community-focused public health campaign with measurable reach, expanding partnerships, and sustained youth leadership.
Life Unvaped is a youth-led community awareness initiative focused on nicotine addiction and its mental and physical impacts. Co-founded and run by Healthspan Action Coalition intern Arundhathi Jathin alongside fellow Valencia High School students Karisa Zoe Flores, Christian Lee, and Hudson Lee, the campaign demonstrates how young people can lead credible, effective public health efforts when empowered to do so.
Over the past year, Life Unvaped has transitioned from launch mode to sustained implementation. What began as a response to what students were seeing among their peers—vaping framed as harmless, trendy, or a way to cope with stress—has grown into a coordinated campaign addressing nicotine addiction as both a health issue and a social one. The initiative focuses not only on scientific facts, but also on stigma, peer pressure, anxiety, and the emotional drivers that make vaping particularly appealing to adolescents.
A defining strength of Life Unvaped is its peer-to-peer approach. Because the campaign is entirely student-driven, its messaging resonates strongly with young audiences. Teens are more willing to engage, ask honest questions, and reflect on their own choices when the information comes from peers who understand their realities. This youth-centered model has been central to the campaign’s continued growth and credibility.
Expanding Community Outreach
Since our initial coverage, Life Unvaped has significantly expanded its in-person outreach across the Santa Clarita Valley. Team members have visited Rancho Pico, Rio Norte, Arroyo Seco, Sierra Vista, La Mesa, and Placerita Junior High Schools, delivering interactive presentations tailored to middle school students. These sessions explore how nicotine affects brain development, why adolescence is a particularly vulnerable stage for addiction, and the long-term mental and physical health consequences of vaping.
Importantly, these presentations create a comfortable, judgment-free environment where younger students can ask candid questions. By keeping the conversations youth-to-youth, Life Unvaped helps demystify nicotine addiction and disrupts the perception that “everyone is doing it.”
To ensure accuracy and depth, Life Unvaped has also conducted multiple interviews with medical and behavioral health specialists across the SCV. Insights from these professionals are incorporated into presentations, educational materials, and social media content, ensuring that all messaging is evidence-based, credible, and accessible to teens.
Building Partnerships and Sustainability
Over the past year, Life Unvaped has strengthened its role within the broader public health ecosystem. The campaign has collaborated with DFY in SCV, a free, school-based drug prevention program for Elementary, Junior High, and High School students in the Santa Clarita Valley, and also with the City of Santa Clarita, and the Healthspan Action Coalition, helping connect students and families to local prevention and health resources. These partnerships amplify the campaign’s reach while reinforcing its youth-led foundation.
To sustain its educational efforts, Life Unvaped has launched ongoing fundraising initiatives, including donation-based campaigns, on-campus bake sales, and restaurant partnership fundraisers. These activities not only support programming but also increase visibility and spark community-wide conversations about vaping and nicotine use.
Meeting Teens Where They Are: Social Media Impact
Life Unvaped’s social media presence has grown substantially since last year. The campaign now reaches over 1,500 followers on Instagram (@lifeunvaped), where students share original infographics, myth-busting posts, expert interview clips, and short educational videos. Recognizing that social media often plays a role in promoting vaping culture, the team intentionally uses these same platforms to counter misinformation and normalize healthier choices.
Looking Ahead
As Life Unvaped enters its next year, the team is focused on expanding its impact even further. Upcoming plans include revisiting junior high schools and reaching new campuses, hosting elementary school events focused on mental health education, collaborating with rehabilitation centers in the SCV, and continuing expert interviews.
A recent meeting with Bernard Siegel and Melissa King, co-founders of the Healthspan Action Coalition, explored why nicotine addiction, especially through vaping, is so appealing to adolescents, how it interacts with anxiety, stress, and depression, and who serves as “champions of change” in the fight against nicotine addiction. The discussion also reflected on how nicotine use has evolved over decades, driven by new technology, marketing, and social media, and how those same platforms can be leveraged to combat harmful trends.
One year after its launch, Life Unvaped stands as a compelling example of youth leadership in public health. By pairing lived experience with scientific expertise and community collaboration, the campaign has moved beyond awareness into lasting impact, proving that young people are not just the audience for prevention efforts, but among the most effective leaders driving change.
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