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.
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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.