Are Mobile Phones Safe?

The question over whether mobile phones pose any risk to health has been debated for quite a while, and the jury is still out. The definitive answer may not be known for some years since subtle changes in the body leading to malfunction or disorder may be impossible to spot early on. It is only by the weight of evidence accrued over a long period of time that we are able to make real deductions. It has been suggested that the frequent and continued use of mobile phones over a period of ten years could cause brain tumours, but sufficient time has not yet elapsed to prove this correlation.

In the meantime, several reputable organisations, including the World Heath Organisation, say there is no conclusive evidence that using cell phones harms health. This does not mean of course that they are safe, but merely that they are without known risk at present.

Recent research has suggested that children absorb about twice as much radiation from a mobile phone as an adult because their skulls are thinner. There is also the likelihood that radiation penetrates deeper into the brain. These facts, coupled with the unknown effects of radiation particularly on developing brain tissues which may be more susceptible to damage, make for some serious concern.

Scientists agree that ionizing radiation causes breaks in DNA leading to cancer, but many maintain that the radiation from cell phones is well below such frequencies and non-ionizing. Whether or not these types of radiation, similar to that in microwaves, can cause cell damage, particularly long term, is not known. There is a plausible risk from a biological standpoint of damage to cells' ability to repair themselves, even if not of direct damage to DNA.

The overriding concern would seem to be that it could take years before we know whether there is a risk to health from cell phones because cancer often takes years to manifest. It was, for example over thirty years after cigarettes began to be mass produced before epidemiologists saw a big rise in lung cancer incidence.

Until we get definitive answers on the issue of mobile phone safety, and opinions that are independent and not prejudiced by commercial interests, it would seem prudent to at least restrict cell phone use by children, and/or take whatever protective measures are available, such as perhaps hands-free or shielding devices.
Acer computers and lenovo

Mobile Phones Cause Cancer

It is a controversial issue which has been a matter of contention ever since mobile phones were introduced back in the nineteen eighties. Do mobile phones cause cancer? We all use them. Well over 2 billion people have cell phones worldwide, which makes the topic very important.

Mobile phones essentially work by transmitting and receiving radio frequency microwave radiation, which in itself sounds dangerous. The government has released guidelines recommending that children under 16 should not use cell phones and adults should only use them for short calls. Does this mean the government is concerned there is actually a risk, especially to children who are still developing? If you are concerned for the well being of your child you can obtain more information from the Health Protection Agency of Radiation Protection.

Both Maine and San Francisco in the United States plan on making it compulsory for handset manufacturers to place cancer risk labels on phones, similar to cigarette boxes. Indeed you can now buy phone shielding products, which are said to protect us from the harmful effects of phone radiation.

All of this does sound very worrying. But no solid evidence has ever been found to support the notion that mobile phones do cause cancer. In 2006 a research study involving over 2,500 people concluded that no link could be found between the use of mobile phones and contracting a type of brain tumor called Glioma. A Danish study using over 400,000 people conducted over 21 years found no increased risk of forming a brain tumor from mobile phone use. Also most of these studies have looked at the use of older analogue handsets, which emit far higher levels of radiation than digital phones which most people use nowadays. Using a digital phone greatly reduces the exposure of radio wave radiation. All of this information can be found on the Cancer Research UK site.

If cell phones were harmful surely by now there would be irrefutable evidence to prove that they did cause cancer. This is simply not the case. There are also plenty of other appliances such as televisions, DVD players and Microwaves which also emit similar amounts of radiation and no evidence has been shown to imply that these electronic devices cause cancer either.

There is so much evidence to suggest that cell phones do not cause cancer it cannot really be ignored. You will always find scare-mongers and journalists who want to be controversial. The fact is well over 2 billion people use mobile phones in the world, most of them every day. If they did cause cancer there would have been a massive surge in the occurrence of brain tumors. Has this been reported, no it has not. If you want to use your mobile phone safely do not drive whilst using it. According to recent studies you are four times more likely to have a crash while using it.

Until proven without reasonable doubt and when new legislation comes in making it compulsory for all manufacturers in the UK to advertise the potential health dangers of using mobile phones there is no immediate cause for worry.

Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer?

A part of me wishes we definitively knew the answer to this question simply to get people to refrain from talking on their cell phones while driving. Nothing is more frustrating on the road than seeing bad driving practices only to see the driver blabbing on a phone. In addition, we know that driving while talking on a mobile phone is equivalent to driving with an illegal blood alcohol level with regards to reaction time and focus on the road. People have been killed in car accidents by someone talking on a phone. I was in a car accident about 3 years ago when I was rear-ended by a woman talking on her cell phone. It is now illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving in California and other states are catching on as well. We also know that a headset or speaker phone does not reduce the risk of an accident. But I digress, we were supposed to be talking about brain cancer.

According to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association Americans spent 2.2 trillion minutes on their cell phones in 2008 which was a 100 billion minute increase from the previous year. Cell phones are becoming more and more advanced in their capabilities and at the same time, increasing their radio frequency output. A few studies have shown an increase in brain tumors on the same side of the head where the user holds the phone, but other studies have shown no association.

A 2009 study looked at 23 studies of 38,000 people and found no connection between cell phone use and brain tumors. However, there was a subset analysis of eight studies which showed a 10-30% increase in the risk of tumors from long-term use compared to people who rarely used a cell phone.

The European Environment Agency has stepped up and warned against the use of mobile phones in children because they have their entire lives ahead of them with exposure to radio frequencies and radiation. John Bucher, the associate director of the National Toxicology Program, testified before the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee. He stated that cell phone radiation penetrates deeper into a child's brain because of the configuration of a young, growing skull.

Professor Lennart Hardell is a Swedish researcher who is at the leading edge of cell phone radiation and brain cancer risk research. He has found an increased risk of brain tumors from 10 or more years of mobile phone use. Several studies of his have been published with the following key findings:

• For every 100 hours of cell phone use, the risk of brain cancer increases by 5%. For every year of use, the risk of brain cancer increases by 8%.
• After 10 or more years of digital cell phone use, there was a 280% increased risk of brain cancer.
• For digital cell phone users who were teenagers or younger when they first started using mobile phones, there was a 420% increased risk of brain cancer.

Why is there conflicting evidence? Is there special interest involved and who funded the studies in question? Dr. Hardell's research is very compelling and I tend to trust European studies over American studies because there is usually less of a money-trail in Europe. There is a lot of money to be made on cell phone use and we live in a country where the bottom line means everything.

In addition, why is it clearly stated in the fine print of cell phone manuals to use caution regarding radio frequencies and warnings about keeping the phone as far away from the body as possible? Radiation decreases as the square of the distance from the phone. The farther the phone is from your body, the less radiation exposure. One example is the Blackberry 8300 which clearly states: "When using any data feature of the Blackberry device, with or without a USB cable, keep the device at least.98 inches from your body and it should not be worn or carried on the body." This is clear enough for me that the cell phone manufacturers know the potential dangers of radiation.

Dr. Devra Lee Davis is the director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and author of the book Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide it, and How to Protect Your Family. She has testified before congress about this subject and has published numerous articles as well. She recommends the following to reduce your risk:

• Put your phone in the "flight" or "off-line" mode when carrying, storing, or charging it.  This stops the electromagnetic emissions.
• Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body or storing it near your body at night.
• Use a wired headset (not Bluetooth!) or the speaker-phone mode to keep the phone as far from your body as possible while talking.
• Switch sides of your head regularly while talking.
• Use text messaging instead of talking.
• Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible.  SAR stands for specific absorption rate, a measure of the strength of electromagnetic fields.
• Children should only use cell phones near their heads for emergencies.  Texting away from the body is safer for children than talking on a cell phone.
• Avoid using the phone while the signal is weak or when moving at high speeds as in a car or train.  This increases the power to the phone as it tries to stay connected.

Until more research is done that is not funded by the phone industry I will treat this as if cell phone radiation is in fact detrimental to my health. It is better to be safe than sorry and the studies that show an increased risk of brain tumors are simply too compelling to ignore. Use the simple steps outlined in this article and choose a phone with a low SAR to protect yourself from potential damage.

Dr. Nikolas Hedberg is a holistic physician specializing in thyroid disorders, hormone imbalances, allergies, chronic fatigue, digestive disorders and fibromyalgia. His truly unique and innovative practice is in Asheville, NC where patients travel from all over the world to seek his services. Dr. Hedberg uses state-of-the-art scientific laboratory diagnostic testing to uncover the underlying causes of disease. He utilizes a variety of natural medicines, nutrition and lifestyle modifications to correct the imbalances found on testing. His goal with each patient is to find the underlying cause, correct it without harmful drugs and teach each patient how to maintain an optimal state of health and well-being.
 Intel