The £115 one-hour test – which involves wearing a special tampon – can be carried out at home, with the results posted to a lab for analysis.
It is hoped it will encourage career women who say they are too busy to visit a GP and women under 25, who are not eligible for free NHS screening, to check for early signs of cancer.
But some experts warned the test could cause thousands of women unnecessary worry because it will usually give a positive for the virus which leads to cervical cancer.
Clinical consultant Anne Szarewski said: ‘In young people, everyone is going to test positive. The rate of HPV (human papillomavirus ) is high but it’s transient...it comes and goes.’
It is estimated up to 40 per cent of women under 35 do not go for smear tests, despite a campaign backed by Jade Goody, who died from cervical cancer a year ago yesterday.
The DIY kits are on sale from online pharmacy DrThom, which claims it will also help women who are too embarrassed to have a conventional test, which involves scraping cells from the neck of the womb.
Consultant gynaecologist Nick Wales, who helped with the test’s development, said: ‘It is an invaluable addition to the detection of precancerous changes of the cervix. I believe within ten years all cervical screening will be done this way.’
The test detects changes in genetic material in cells affected by HPV which causes most cases of cervical cancer.
But many doctors believe screening in the under-25s is pointless because test results are so unreliable.
However, a study published in the British Medical Journal last week showed home smear testing could double the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer
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