Goal.com

Goal.com take a look at the app the Catalan giants have launched to offer supporters a unique way to give up their smoking habit

In December last year, Barcelona teamed up with the European Commission in a bid to help football fans give up smoking.

The club's biggest stars including Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes helped launch the 'Quit smoking with Barça' campaign which also includes an online tool and mobile phone app called the FCB iCoach which gives personalised tips, information on quitting smoking along with motivation from the Catalan side's players.

With that in mind, Goal.com decided to catch up with a football fan who has been attempting to kick the habit with the use of the app.

Iago Lago, 27, from Vigo in Spain, quit smoking last month in the hope of improving his health and his bank balance.

FCB iCoach!

If you're looking to quit smoking you can join the FCB iCoach programme HERE

"I decided to give up because of two main reasons, the first obviously being my health. I am 27-years-old and started to feel bad, having problems with my breathing as well as a chronic cough. Second reason is the money. Like so many people in Spain, currently I'm not in my best economical moment so quitting smoking can help me with this," Iago told Goal.com.

Despite supporting fellow Liga club Celta Vigo, Iago decided to start using the FCB iCoach app on his mobile phone and has been impressed with how it is helping him to avoid cigarettes.

"I think the app is so useful because it helps remind me of the benefits of quitting smoking. I'm particularly a fan of the tips. Some of them are simple but help me a lot. I used to smoke at the wheel but now I replace cigarettes with singing my favourite songs. Of course, my girlfriend hates this tip!" Iago added.

Although not a supporter of Barcelona himself, Iago feels the app is not just suited to fans of the Blaugrana, but to all supporters.

"I'm not a Barcelona supporter and I love this app. You could even argue Barca fans don't need it as much as myself because they win all of their matches [laughs]! Supporting someone like Celta de Vigo could ruin your willpower so this app can definitely help people," he concluded.

Asked if he would be recommending the app to his family and friends, Iago replied: "Absolutely! Most of my friends are Barcelona supporters plus a lot of them are really into new technology. Quite a few of them smoke a lot so I definitely think it will be easier to quit if they use this app."

For those looking to quit smoking, Barcelona have teamed up with the European Commission’s “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable” campaign (www.exsmokers.eu) to launch the innovative 'Quit Smoking with Barça' programme. To find out more information and read about the FCB iCoach app, visit www.quitsmokingwithbarca.eu