Tobacco-Free Hokies
Hokie Wellness offers extensive tobacco-use prevention and tobacco treatment programs at Virginia Tech. The cornerstone of our prevention program is the Tobacco-Free Hokies T-shirt Campaign (TFH). We work with Virginia Tech and the local community on initiatives designed to support tobacco-free lifestyles. Over the past 15 years, Tobacco-Free Hokies T-shirts have become Virginia Tech icons.
The Tobacco-Free Hokies T-Shirt Campaign for Virginia Tech Students
We distribute Tobacco-Free Hokies T-shirts to students who are smoke, vape, and tobacco-free On the front of the t-shirts is one of our "special" Surgeon General's warnings. On the back is an image of the Hokie Bird and stomping out cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. They are extremely popular on campus. We've seen Hokies wearing our TFH T-shirts all over the United States and we've even spotted them in other countries.
We distribute TFH T-shirts to about 1,000 Virginia Tech Students every year. We will post distribution information here when we offer the campaign again.
In addition to rewarding Virginia Tech students who are already tobacco-free with TFH T-shirts, we offer our 60-Day Challenge to students who wish to quit smoking, vaping, or dipping. Students who use tobacco may sign up for the program. If they are successful at quitting for 60 days and intend to remain tobacco-free, we will give them a TFH T-shirt. We offer quitting services to help them throughout the process. Contact healthed@vt.edu for more info.
The Tobacco-Free Hokies Health Care Provider Campaign
We know that doctors, nurses, and other allied health care professionals play an important part in promoting tobacco-free lifestyles and helping people quit. As part of the Tobacco-Free Hokies Campaign, Schiffert Health Center staff wear lab coats and scrubs with the Tobacco-Free Hokie Bird on them. Every Friday, we have a "wear day" at Schiffert Health Center, where most staff members can be seen wearing TFH professional garb. Many staff members also wear them on other days of the week. The TFH Health Care Provider Campaign is a visual reminder to the campus that being tobacco-free is, in fact, the norm at Virginia Tech. In addition, it gives every patient an invitation to ask their provider about how to quit smoking or dipping—for themselves or somebody they know. Our health care providers are deeply committed to helping students quit tobacco and enthusiastically participate in the campaign.