HSE project addresses links between smoking, HPV and cervical cancer

Marking HPV Awareness Day (4 March 2025), the HSE is announcing a new initiative to support patients and healthcare professionals to understand the links between smoking, HPV and cervical cancer. Smoking increases the risk of having an active HPV infection which can lead to harmful health outcomes such as cell abnormalities in the cervix and cervical cancer.

Through this initiative, resources and supports are being provided to women who are referred to colposcopy clinics through CervicalCheck and who are smokers. The project aims to support women who smoke so they can better understand the relationship between smoking, HPV and cervical cancer, and the benefits of quitting smoking. In addition, the HSE QUIT team is putting in place e-referrals from colposcopy clinics, so that clinics can easily refer their patients to quit smoking services. 

According to Professor Nóirín Russell, CervicalCheck Clinical Director, HSE National Screening Service: “HPV (the human papillomavirus) is the cause of most cervical cancers. Most people will get HPV at some stage in their lives. For most people, their immune system will clear the virus naturally from their body within one to two years. For some people, the virus will remain active. We know that smoking is a risk factor for persistent HPV – that is HPV that your body cannot clear, which can lead to cell abnormalities in the cervix and cervical cancer.

“About 4 in 10 women who attend colposcopy clinics in Ireland are smokers, and we want to support our colposcopy clinics to have conversations with women about smoking, and the link between HPV and cervical cancer.

“Colposcopy is a vital part of the CervicalCheck programme and colposcopy clinics are a suitable setting for brief interventions about smoking. Approximately 50,000 women attend one of 15 colposcopy units each year. They are referred for additional assessment because their screening test shows they have HPV and they have abnormal cells, or because they have had no abnormal cells but their 12 month repeat screening test shows they have not cleared the HPV infection. Most women will not need treatment and will be discharged with routine follow up but approximately 6,500 women each year will require treatment for abnormal cells on their cervix. Treatment of precancers is very safe and efficient and 90% of women will never need another treatment.”

Elaine Buckley, National Stop Smoking Services Coordinator, HSE Tobacco Free Ireland Programme, said: “The use of electronic referral pathways to stop smoking services for women in Ireland will help ensure timely and seamless access to care, empowering women to take the first step towards a smoke-free life.

“We have over 200 trained stop smoking advisors delivering evidence-based stop smoking care across the country, supported by the HSE’s National Quitline. These services are available free of charge to all clients, with the added benefit of free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to support the quit process. The HSE’s stop smoking advisors provide a client-focused, non-judgemental approach to support individuals on their quit journey. By working closely with each client, advisors offer personalised care that helps them stay motivated and achieve their goals.”

Niamh O’Donovan is a Registered General Nurse in the Cork Colposcopy Service and a member of the Nurses in Colposcopy Clinics in Ireland Association. Speaking about her involvement in the development of these new supports, Niamh says: “Having conversations with women is a huge part of our work in colposcopy clinics. These new resources will help support the conversations we have with women who are smokers about the link between smoking, HPV and cervical cancer, and help us to support women who want to quit. Staff in colposcopy clinics were central to the development of these resources and the introduction of the process of e-referrals to quit smoking services, taking part in a survey that led to a better understanding of the practices, needs, gaps and opportunities for referrals to stop smoking services for women who attend colposcopy.”

This joint project involving the National Screening Service and its CervicalCheck programme, Tobacco Free Ireland, the Nurses in Colposcopy Clinics in Ireland Association, and UCC School of Public Health has created the resources that will provide information to patients in colposcopy and their healthcare providers. The new resources have been shared with colposcopy clinics nationally and hard copies of the information leaflet for patients can be ordered at healthpromotion.ie.

CervicalCheck offers HPV cervical screening every three years to women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 29; and every five years to those aged 30 to 65 years. Cervical screening is for women who do not have any symptoms of cervical cancer. Never ignore symptoms of cervical cancer, speak to your GP, even if you have had a recent normal screening result.