“Quit Smoking with Barça” recognized

The health campaign initiated by FC Barcelona and the European Commission has been awarded four honors in the span of a week. The Creative Club of Belgium (CCB) announced that it would be honoring the club with three awards for different categories on Friday, “emphasizing the creativity and originality of the publicity,” as reported on FC Barcelona’s official website.
Earlier on Wednesday, the EACA Care Awards recognized Barça’s work with another award. “Quit Smoking with Barça,” a campaign that helps smokers quit, was celebrated for its Europe-wide contribution to public health.
This campaign started as a result of two earlier initiatives, separately developed by the Catalan club and the Commission. FC Barcelona had launched “Barça Sense Fum,” banning smoking inside the Club’s premises in January 2012, while the European Commission had launched its campaign “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable” earlier in March 2011, “throughout the 27 member countries of the EU“. These initiatives drove the Club and the Commission to work together on a common cause.
The director responsible for FC Barcelona’s medical department, Jordi Monés, said, “At Barça we believe firmly in our slogan, ‘More than a Club’ and we encourage values of respect, health and social commitment. ‘Quit smoking with Barça’ lets us put this slogan into practice. We are delighted to continue collaborating with the European Commission in such an important public health problem and these awards clearly show that our combined efforts have not gone unnoticed.”
Congratulations to FC Barcelona and the European Commission on a campaign that is helping more than 70,000 people give up smoking, by focusing on the benefits of stopping smoking as opposed to judging smokers on an unhealthy habit.