Health Risks of Cell Phone Use

On 11/11/2009, I have posted an article titled:

• Wireless Radiation and Brain Tumor Risks^[1]

Until now, I still don't own a cell phone and I am not planning to own one in the future.^[15-18,22]  Recently, I have read an excellent book written by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz:

• The Healthy Home^[2]

which urges me to visit the safety of cell phone use again.

Are We Protected from Dangers?

The answer is a resounding NO. It took 70 years to remove lead from paint and gasoline, and 50 years to establish the link between smoking and cancer and to have warnings printed on packs of cigarettes^[2]. Even the ancient Greeks noted that asbestos was harmful, but it took the United States more than 60 years to ban its use after illness were documented.^[19]

In [3], it states that:

• The possible adverse health and environmental effects of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposure through indoor residual spraying (IRS) are not known and pose a real concern.

However, in 2006, the World Health Organization issued a position statement promoting the use of IRS with DDT for malaria vector control in epidemic and endemic areas. And yes, DDT is still in use today even with a recent headline reminding us that:

• Forty Years Later Banned Pesticide DDT Is Still Killing California Condors^[4]

Finally, "Instead of protecting the public health, the FDA has been allowing the drug companies to pay for a seat at a small table where all the rules were written," reported The Seattle Times.^[13]

Is Cell Phone Safe?

The short answer is UNKNOWN^[14]. But, the scientific evidence is quickly mounting that cell phone use is associated with the development of serious adverse health effects, especially for whose bodies and brains are still developing.^[1,7,20,21]

Dr. Lennart Hardell, a cancer expert from University Hospital in Sweden, recently found that among individuals who began using cell phones before they were twenty years old, after a year or more of use, the risk of brain cancer was 5.2 time greater than for the general population.^[5]

In 2009, President’s Cancer Panel has published an Annual Report^[20] which examines the impact of environmental factors (including EMR/EMF or non-ionizing radiation) on cancer risk. The Panel has warned that:

Some evidence suggests that EMR/EMF may also have deleterious effects on human health with prolonged exposure.

Sources of non-ionizing radiation include electric power lines, radio and television transmissions, radar, cell phones and other wireless communication devices, cell phone towers, microwave ovens, other home appliances, the sun, and artificial tanning devices.

In 2011, IARC ( International Agency for Research on Cancer of WHO) reviewed all the available evidence in relation to RF fields and cancer.^[7] Based on the limited association between wireless phones (mobile and cordless phones) and glioma and acoustic neuroma and inadequate evidence for other types of cancers, IARC classified RF fields as a “possible human carcinogen”.

Finally, do you know what cancer Senator Kennedy died of? The answer is Glioma.^[8] As a Senator, you bet he was on the cell phone a lot. Is his cancer related to the frequent use of cellular phone? If I were you, that's the question I would ask.

More Health Risks

Though the most common concern is cancer, there are other serious hazards.^[2] A 2008 study from the UCLA School of Public Health asked more than 13,000 mothers to complete a questionnaire that included questions about the health and behavioral status of their children at 7 years of age. It also asked whether the mothers had used cell phones during the pregnancy or immediately after the birth. By nearly two-to-one, the children whose mothers reported cell phone use during this critical time demonstrated behavioral difficulties such as hyperactivity around the age they entered school.^[9]

Scientists postulate that the human body responds to EMFs^[11] as invading pathogens, setting in place a cascade of biochemical reactions that cause the release of damaging free radials, alter the blood-brain barrier,^[12] kick-start chronic inflammatory responses and disrupt intercellular communications.

Recommendations

If you are one of the persons that cannot resist the frequent use of cell phones, please heed Dr. Herberman's 10 practical suggestions documented in:

Don't Be So Sure Your Cell Phone Is Safe

Photo Credit

• needs RADIO on Facebook

References

1. Wireless Radiation and Brain Tumor Risks (Travel and Health)
2. The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz
3. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for Indoor Residual Spraying in Africa: How Can It Be Used for Malaria Control?
4. DDT May Still Be Screwing the California Condor
5. "Mobile Telephones and Health Effects," Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, 2009.
6. L. Hardell and M. Carlberg, "Mobile Phones, Cordless Phones, and the Risk for Brain Tumors," International Journal of Oncology 35 (2009): 5-17.
7. IARC Classifies Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields as Possibly Carcinogenic to Humans
8. Senator Edward Kennedy Dies From Malignant Glioma - Medscape
9. H. Divan et al., "Prenatal and Postnatal Exposure to Cell Phone Use and Behavioral Problems in Children," Epidemiology 19 (2008): 523-29.
10. Don't Be So Sure Your Cell Phone Is Safe (Travel and Health)
11. Radio Frequency Radiation Emissions of Wireless Communication Devices (Travel and Health)
12. Blood-Brain Barrier (Travel and Health)
13. Drugmakers pay to attend FDA advisory panel’s meetings, emails show (The Seattle Times)
• “Instead of protecting the public health, the FDA has been allowing the drug companies to pay for a seat at a small table where all the rules were written.”
14. French Health Agency Recommends Children and Vulnerable Groups Reduce Cell Phone Radiation Exposure
• Limited levels of evidence do point to different biological effects in humans or animals. 
• In addition, some publications suggest a possible increased risk of brain tumour, over the long term, for heavy users of mobile phones.
15. Put Down Your Smart Phone and Pick Up Your Heart Phone
16. Further Benefit of a Kind of Inconvenience for Social Information Systems
17. A Sightseeing Navigation System without Route Information
• Inconvenience can force people to use their cognitive mapping more often, which benefits people's brains.  Also, it allows people to explore new territories and open up new possibilities for discovery.
18. 6 Ways Phones and Tablets Affect Your Health
19. Asbestos Victims Unite On Mesothelioma Awareness Day (EWG)
20. 2008–2009 Annual Report (President’s Cancer Panel)
21. 'Casualty catastrophe' - Cell phones & child brains (Youtube)
22. Indian prime minister not worried about U.S. hacking because he doesn't have a cell phone or use email
23. Belgium Boosts Cell Phone Radiation Safeguards (EWG)
• Belgium recently adopted new cell phone regulations that bar mobile phone models designed for, and marketed to children ages 7 and younger.
24. Disease risk rises for health care workers exposed to radiation on the job
25. The Unsettling Rise Of Microwave Syndrome