The drugmaker finally wised up.

Merck has decided not to lobby states to mandate its Gardasil HPV vaccine for pre-teen girls. Richard Haupt, the drugmaker’s executive director of medical affairs, told The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) the issue has become a distraction and “decided at this point not to lobby for school laws any further.”

What took them so long? This is a company that is continually beaten up for its handling of Vioxx safety data, and operates in an industry that is regularly criticized for failing to disclose side effect data; promote drugs improperly and charge prices that many can’t afford.

So what does Merck do? Donate money to a non-profit called Women In Government, whose members include state legislators who are encouraged to introduce bills mandating its HPV vaccine. Never mind that not every state mandates other vaccines for diseases that can be caught sitting next to another person. Or that the rate of cervical cancer, which HPV can cause, is very low in the US.

That’s not the way to build trust among the public - which includes doctors, their patients and investors, too. Yes, the Gardasil flap became a distraction, but Merck execs have no one but themselves to blame.

This episode may cool down, at least for now, but it leaves a stain on Merck’s once-proud legacy.