Cervical smear

Is it a requirement for a sexually inactive woman to have a cervical smear? I am 30 and haven't had sex I just masturbate but I have been touched down there so I can't be sure if I need a smear or not.

30 years old and never had a pap smear, that's a little scary actually. Most people have their first one at age 21 (at the latest), though many have them shortly after their first period. Age 30 you should have one every five years, sexually active or not. If you get an abnormal result, they might want you to have them more often. 

There is no 'requirement' to have any screening test. It is about informed consent and for you to weigh the pros and cons of having a test which can detect the early stages of a problem and treat it before it becomes serious. You are free to have the test or refuse it and in the UK the test is free.

Not free here in the U.S. unfortunately. And there are actually insurance companies who will drop you or raise your rates as "high risk" if you don't have it here. One more factor of our broken health system in the U.S.

There is increasing evidence that cervical changes towards cancer are triggered by infection with a virus called HPV. HPV is transmitted through sex. However NOT ALL people with cervical changes have HPV infection. In other words it is possible to get cervix problems without HPV infection. People who have never had sex (e.g. Nuns) have very low rates of cervical cancer. See the info on this web site about HPV and testing and here is a quote:

I have never had sex. Do I need a cervical screening test?

The test is recommended for all women - even if you have never had sex. However, the risk of getting cervical cancer is very low if you have never had sex. This is because the main cause of cervical cancer is a past infection with HPV - the type of common wart virus that is normally passed on by having sex. There are other, less common types of cervical cancer, not caused by HPV, so women who have never had sex are still at risk.

See separate leaflet called Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Immunisation for more information and also the leaflet dealing with cervical cancer. You may decide that you do not want to have a test if you have never had sex.

So as a precaution then, and also because US insurance companies are more likely to accept you, it does make sense for you to consider going for a smear test.