A leading medical journal today said a vaccine that could protect thousands of women from cervical cancer should be made compulsory for schoolgirls.
The Lancet called for the Gardasil vaccination - which protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV) - to be made available to all 11 and 12-year-olds.
HPV causes changes to cells that can lead to cervical cancer and most cases of genital warts.
The vaccine, which should reduce deaths from cervical cancer by 70%, has caused controversy among some Christian groups, who object to it being given to girls before they become sexually active.
Last week, the European commission approved the sale of the vaccine across the UK and Europe. Women will be able to buy Gardasil privately, but it has not yet been decided whether it will be available on the NHS.
A government survey of parents' attitudes to early vaccines suggested there would not be widespread resistance to a vaccination campaign.
In its editorial, the Lancet pointed to the US, where Gardasil immunisations were recently made compulsory for all 11 and 12-year-old girls in the state of Michigan.
"This is the first legislation of its kind in the USA, and a decision from which the EU member states should take heed," the editorial said.
The European licence allows the vaccine to be given to all females aged from nine to 26. The journal said there was growing support for giving the vaccine to boys as well, because men can also be carriers of HPV.
Studies have shown the immunisation of women alone would only prove around one third as effective as targeting both sexes.
They highlighted the rubella vaccination programme, which was widened to include boys in 1995 after a rise in the number of pregnant women contracting the disease.
"For effective and long-term eradication of HPV, all adolescents must be immunised," the Lancet editorial said.
"Data from the vaccine trials in boys are urgently needed; in the meantime, EU member states should lead by making the vaccination mandatory for all girls aged 11-12 years."
Around 80% of sexually active women can expect to receive an HPV infection at some stage in their life. Cervical cancer caused by the virus kills an estimated 230,000 people a year, with 1,100 of those in the UK.
Gardasil, which is made by Sanofi Pasteur and Merck and Co, is one of two vaccines that have been racing for approval. It is already licensed in Australia, Mexico and the US, where the three-dose, six-month course costs around $195 (£100).
A rival product, Cervarix - made by GlaxoSmithKline - is thought to be likely to gain European approval in early 2007.
However, Alex Markham, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said women should continue to attend for cervical smears even if a national vaccination programme was introduced.
"Current vaccines do not prevent all cancer-related HPV strains," he said.