There is an association between smoking and the presence of HPV in cervical lesions and the prevalence of the virus increases with the number of cigarettes smoked daily. The mechanism by which smoking effect the prevalence of HPV in cervical lesions is not completely understood, but the theory is that smoking might facilitate infection and the persistence of the virus rather than cause the changes in the cervical cells. Transmission HPV is transmitted by direct contact with the warts or lesions. Condoms offer limited protection as the warts might be on parts of the body not covered by the condom. Symptoms Warts Genital warts are painless, flat or cauliflower-like growths that can be seen or felt on the genital area of both men and women.
Warts can also be present inside the vagina, on the cervix, or in the anus.
In those cases, the warts are detectable only by physical examinations. The example on the right shows warts near the anus of a young child. The child was infected by his mother at birth. The symptoms of infection might not always be obvious. The virus may express itself as microscopic cell changes in the genital area that may only be diagnosed through medical examinations, tests, and pap smears.