Three out of four say they want their daughters to be vaccinated against HPV, or humanpapillomavirus, which can lead to cervical cancer. Most thought the girls should be jabbed by age 12, and don’t worry the move will lead to sexual promiscuity.

This is, of course, good news for Merck, which sells Gardasil, in the U.S., and GlaxoSmithKline, which is racing to get its own vaccine on the market. The drugmakers have been concerned that many parents would fear the vaccine would make it easier for their daughters to engage in premarital sex.

The survey was conducted by Cancer Research UK, an English charity. Not surprisingly, it was funded by a drugmaker, in this case, Sanofi-Aventis, which has a deal with Merck to peddle Gardasil in Europe.

[tags]cervical cancer, Gardasil, GlaxoSmithKline, HPV, Merck, Sanofi-Aventis[/tags]