Cell phones may cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization, increasing concerns and deepening the debate about how exactly mobile devices affect human health.
In the past, the WHO has maintained that phones are safe, but this latest study calls that assertion into question, saying the agency's own research is contradicting it. WHO scientists are now linking brain tumors and cell phones' electromagnetic radiation, a finding corroborated by earlier studies, though none of them is conclusive.
"It's not at the moment clearly established that the use of mobile phones does in fact cause cancer," said Kurt Straif, head of the IARC Monographs Program, though he advises precautionary measures just in case. "For example, the highest exposure is from voice calls. If you use text messaging or headsets, this will lower the exposure."
Scientists are not completely sure whether electromagnetic waves are responsible for brain cancer, since a number of factors can contribute to this disease. Genetic makeup, amount of exposure, and other environmental factors can all affect a person's chances of getting a tumor.
Also, the WHO study examined current cancer patients who used cell phones over a decade ago and found this sampling is not optimal since mobile devices have evolved drastically and rapidly since 2001. World cell phone use hit 5 billion last year, meaning three quarters of people have a mobile -- the cancer rate among such a large population is bound to be higher than that in a small sample.
But other studies seem to suggest a link, however tenuous, between phones and cancer. The Environmental Health Trust found that "brief, mild electromagnetic signals" fragmented DNA in insect cells, in addition to affecting the blood-brain barrier in young male rats.
The FCC currently requires that phones emit no more than 1.6 watts per kilogram of electromagnetic energy and be kept away by at least 1 to 2 millimeters from a person's body. Still this information is often buried in the fine print of cell phones' owners' manuals so that many consumers remain unaware of these specifications.
Lawmakers in San Francisco recently tabled an initiative that would have made cell phone carriers label their devices outright as "radioactive," a move that understandably did not go over well with wireless giants AT&T and Verizon.
But whether or not cell phones significantly damage human health, scientists also classify coffee, night shift work and gasoline engine exhaust as potentially carcinogenic.
"Anything is a possible carcinogen," said Donald Berry, biostatistics professor at the University of Texas. "This is not something I worry about and it will not in any way change how I use my cell phone."
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