Unfortunately, the Department of Health initially chose the vaccine called Cervarix which only contains HPV types 16 & 18. This will, of course, be tremendous in the battle against cervical cancer, but did nothing for the vast number of patients who develop genital warts. The other vaccine called Gardasil contains 4 HPV types (6, 11, 16 & 18) and would have massively reduced the number of genital wart cases in the United Kingdom. However from September 2012 all 12 year old girls in the UK will now be offered Gardsil. So, in about 10 years time we will see some reduction in genital warts in young people. Patients can still, of course, go to their GP or a clinic, and get a private prescription and buy Gardasil for themselves or their sons or daughters. Most GU Physicians were dismayed over this decision and Dr Colm OMahony wrote an editorial in the journal emphasising that dismay.. Smoking ...