Controversy arises with pap smears

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Controversy continues to rise in the medical community with another recommendation questioning a long standing women's health procedure.

Just days after a panel suggested that women need fewer mammograms, a different group recommends fewer pap smears.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said women should wait until age 21 for their first pap smear.

They also say women under 30 should get one every two years and once every three years for women over 30.

Director of Gynecology at St. Lukes Roosevelt Medical Center, Jacques Moritz said, "For years, I and other doctors have been preaching, get a pap smear every year. Now we're going to be saying, well we don't need to do it every year. And it's gonna cause a lot of confusion."

The American Cancer Society estimates half of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer have never had a pap smear and another 10% hadn't had one in five years.