[Margaret Pilkington]

I agree Kate, but this vaccination will not remove the need for cervical smears as it does not protect against 30% of HPV viruses.....so the girls now being vaccinated will still have to go for regular smears.......as for smears, many women fail to attend for them....and when some abnormality is found, they also fail to attend for investigation(colposcopy) and treatment.......this is still going to be the case.
And if you are set on a vaccination program then why vaccinate only girls? Is it because only girls will get the Cervical cancer? Boys carry and pass on the virus, so why not vaccinate them too.

Personally, I think that the companies who produce the vaccine have done quite a bit of scaremongering.......In 2005, some 900 women died from Cancer of the cervix......and while any death from cancer is lamentable, this is not a huge number when you take the population size into account. How many of these women had not been for their smears is not recorded.
As for the Vaccincation of all girls between the ages of 12 and 18.....this is something that is questionable.......the efficacy of the vaccine lasts for around 4 and a half years.......will only protect agains 70% of the viruses........and a leading Doctor who deals with women suffering from Cervical cancer, has said that the vaccine has not been tested for long enough to ensure it is safe and without long term effects.

I suppose I will be pilloried for my views...especially seeing as I worked in the field of Women's Health for a quarter of a century, but I prefer to research and exercise caution before accepting something that so called experts tell me.......I want to know whether these experts have vested interests in the promotion of mass vaccination.....a very lucrative business.

My way of dealing with this kind of disease would(and has been) to educate women in taking responsibility for their own health, to postpone sexual activity(early sexual activity may be a factor in the number of women having positive smears, and the number of sexual partners may also have a part to play).......to use safer sexual practices, to go for their smears on a regular basis(however unpleasant this procedure is perceived to be) and to lobby their MP for the re-introduction of smears at a younger age.
Every woman who is sexually active is at risk....and so once sexual activity is begun women should be entitled to a smear test.

I will duck now and avoid the flak.