EXTRA help to quit smoking is set to be offered to communities in East Lancashire after Ramadan, health chiefs have pledged.

NHS East Lancashire, which covers Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale, Ribble Valley and Pendle, has heavily promoted its smoking cessation service.

But one of the health trust’s non-executive directors, Atefa Zaman, has said follow-up work, after the traditional period of fasting, left a lot to be desired.

She told a board meeting: “Ramadan starts in August and I know from the feedback I have received that a lot of people do stop smoking.

“But they didn’t receive the aftercare they need and I was hoping something could be done. There are lot of people who want to quit but we need to provide help. This would be the perfect opportunity to target this population.”

Traditional poster campaigns in East Lancashire have encouraged Muslims to try nicotine patches during Ramadan, as it does not break strict conditions of not eating, drinking or smoking, from dawn to dusk, during the festival.

Dr Sohail Bhatti, a public health consultant, said: “There is a major campaign in the pipeline and we have been working closely with the Lancashire Council of Mosques.

“We are working with the 28 mosques as Ramadan is not that far away so we are hoping to put a number of things in place.”

The trust is hopeful of recruiting a stop smoking service adviser for the black and ethnic minority community before Ramadan.

Medics running the service have faced a tough year, with tough NHS targets not being met and the unit being taken over by East Lancashire Community Health Services, the trust’s provider arm.

Last year 2,434 people stopped smoking, against a target of 3,530. The expected rate for 2010-11 is 3,550 and in April 41 per cent of the 591 people who set a quit date gave up cigarettes.