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The Independent
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It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.
Earlier this year, the French government warned against the use of mobile phones, especially by children. Germany also advises its people to minimise handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced. Professor Khurana – a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, has published more than three dozen scientific papers – reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has put the results on a brain surgery website, and a paper based on the research is currently being peer-reviewed for publication in a scientific journal. Noting that malignant brain tumours represent “a life-ending diagnosis”, he adds: “We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation.” He fears that “unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps”, the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically.
At least until the final disposition, I think it would be prudent to take them away from your children. Of course I have my own selfish reasoning behind this……OK, I just don’t like cell phones, so sue me.
Oh, crap.
Frightening if true. But I for one wouldn’t mind having another tool in the arsenal against the 60x60x24x7x365 always wired-in culture. I’ll also be happy to ditch my cell.
The magic word: “Cite.” Peer reviewed and all that. We’ll wait.
Lots of people on the Internet have said all sorts of things are bad for us (or even good for us) with little or no proof.
#3, For this being a blog that exists for entertainment purposes, you people sure are a bunch of wannabe science snobs.
I suppose forcing the kids to only use texting would be a step in the right direction. Another step would be give them a quarter for the pay phone.
more reasons to turn off the phone when not in use
This bogus claim is ridiculous on its face.
Brain tumors are fairly rare… about 13,000 dead in the US last yr. On the other hand, smoking will kill 1/4 of all smokers – about 450,000/yr in the US.
You can increase brain cancer by 30x and still not beat smoking.
#4: You betcha we’re science snobs; many of us are engineers and scientists of various flavors. Example: John Dvorak’s a chemical engineer, as am I. Science is a very good way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
The only real threat to cell phone users is from me when they talk so loud you can here them a block away. Can’t these mental midgets understand that it is unnecessary to yell into the phone?
#3. floyd..You wait, I’ll abstain. I harken back to the fifties when competent physicians exclaimed certain brands of cigarettes were healthier than others. I think we have yet to see the effects of EMF on humans, including that laptop that may be cooking the family jewels as we speak. Perhaps it will turn out to be harmless, or not. But I dont think I would take the chance with my kids, not yet. Yes your Chemical, I’m an Electrical/ Electronics engineer. From one snob to another.
Talk about sensationalism. I love all these “this and that” will kill you. Coffee is bad, then coffee is good. Eggs are bad, then eggs are good. Alcohol bad, then alcohol in moderation is good. The sky is falling, and Hillary Clinton still has a chance of winning. Bullshit I say. Eat, drink and do whatever the fuck you want. Life is too short to listen to blow hard, pseudo-scientists who don’t have the slightest idea what they are talking about.
#11. Moderation in most things is probably fine….including cell phones. Now, watch the kids as they practice moderation.
I agree with you, up to a point. But coffee and alcohol have been around forever, this issue needs more time for study. And its pseudo btw, but then I guess you know what your talking about, not some blow hard neurologist.
#11, “Life is too short to listen to blow hard, pseudo-scientists who don’t have the slightest idea what they are talking about.”
Or anonymous people posting on Internet blogs for that matter.
I take virtually everything I read on the Internet with a grain of salt.
Most US carriers offer “unlimited” deals – YAY
[Duplicate comment. – Deleted. – ed.]
There is also a remote chance that cell phones create mini-black holes. That alone should stop their common usage except for emergencies–like not getting the right order at the local MacDonalds.
This is not a study, or research. He read a bunch of other peoples research and gave an opinion that differs from everyone else who has read the same studies, including the CDC and the WHO.
must take “immediate steps” to reduce exposure to their radiation.
I believe that radiation they want to reduce is what makes the cellphone work. It is a radio after all.
The good news is that this is something a tinfoil hat will help.
If we had a pro-active government who actively served the citizens, cell phones would be thoroughly studied. They would have been studied before everybody owned them.
I’m generally not an alarmist but this issue deserves serious study. We absolutely know that radio wave at that frequency cause physical damage to the body… but maybe not at that very low wattage. That’s what needs to be studied.
We also have to absolutely outlaw driving while talking on a cell phone … even a hands-free one. People should be paying attention to their driving… not arguing with the wife or negotiating a contract.
#7, but those numbers are from before the ubiquitous use of cell phones. If his claim is that cell phone use will kill more than smoking, or something close to it, then cell phones will be more deadly than smoking. You can update the math for us.
#11 Wait, wait, wait! I followed your logic with the coffee bad/coffee good, and eggs good/eggs bad argument, but alcohol bad/ alcohol IN MODERATION good? Nobody told me this!
I saw this report on tv and they claimed people used 6 recharged devices per day. I thought this seemed high. But I use a cell phone, laptop, wireless home phone, electric razor and iPod everyday (and that’s what without really thinking about it too much –which I can’t do anymore anyway thanks to recharged devices).
Anyway, to sum up…donuts are good!
Question: Does this only count when the phone is in use? I only use my phone a couple of times a week, but I always have it on me. Is it bad just carrying it in my pocket?
Why do people run this shit?
Cell phones are low radio waves, with a frequency just above TV.
Radar is 10x that.
Infrared light, which hurts in large doses, is 25x the frequency of Radar.
Visible light is up another 15x.
Above that is UV.
UV causes cancer because it has enough energy to damage DNA.
Visible light does not.
So if cell phones do cause cancer (which most research doesn’t support), then we should be TERRIFIED of light bulbs.
You’re either with us … or, you’re in the dark.
We also have to absolutely outlaw driving. Shoulda stopped the sentence there. Driving kills more people then anything else, yet no one wants to do anything about it.
Wait, now hold on here…
If cell phones really damage the brain that badly, then more people should be idiots.
See that blond girl walking down the street, talking on her over-accessorized flip phone? According to what I’m thinking, using the research stated above, that person may very well turn out to be a dumb blond because of the damage to her brain.
Go ahead people, laugh. Happy april fool’s day, despite the fact I’m not quite in the spirit.
# 5:
… “Another step would be give them a quarter for the pay phone.”
A quarter? Wow, where do you live? Around here it’s at least fifty cents, if you can even find one!
# 9:
The only real threat to cell phone users is from me when they talk so loud you can here them a block away.
I believe the problem is cell phone makers don’t provide loud enough feedback — people can’t hear their own voices in the phone, so they talk louder. A significant part of the circuitry in an old wired phone is for feeding back just the right amount of the talker’s own voice. The Bell system did lots of research to get this just right.
As for how harmful various frequencies of electromagnetic radiation are, I believe cell phones use frequencies close to that used by microwave ovens, or about 2.4 GHz. This gives a wavelength of about 12.5 mm, or just under 5 inches, about the distance between the ears of an adult head. So the brain case could act as a resonator, perhaps increasing the effects. And surely it doesn’t help that the antenna is held right next to the head! OMG! We’re DOOMED!
“This gives a wavelength of about 12.5 mm, or just under 5 inches…”
Sorry, that should read 125 mm or 12.5 cm.
Too much of anything is usually bad, some people (women), just don’t know when to hang up. But this is true of excess in anything. Excesses in; drinking, eating, smoking, sunlight, sex, driving, flying, etc. etc. etc. … All can be lethal. So go live in a cave and be sure to be moderate, but you’re still gonna die. You decide, a moderate, safe, boring, healthy life, OR … you can be like those given to excess – burn the candle at both ends – use your cellphone while eating an enormous steak and drinking your 6 pack of beer, then off to your Lazyboy recliner to watch the game on TV.
“# 23 v said,
on March 31st, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Why do people run this shit?
Cell phones are low radio waves, with a frequency just above TV.
Radar is 10x that.
Infrared light, which hurts in large doses, is 25x the frequency of Radar.
Visible light is up another 15x.
Above that is UV.
UV causes cancer because it has enough energy to damage DNA.
Visible light does not.
“So if cell phones do cause cancer (which most research doesn’t support), then we should be TERRIFIED of light bulbs.”
Radio waves are scary because they will penetrate tissue at low wattages- light will not do that ordinarily, and when it does you are talking lasers with acute tissue damage. I avoid exposure to ANY nearby and/or high energy RF radiation. That includes cellphones.