Cell phones give kids tumors?

[JeeberD]

Interesting story. Guess I won't let my nieces play with my cell any more...

Mobile phones tumour risk to young children

By Sam Coates, Nigel Hawkes and Alexandra Blair

CHILDREN under the age of eight should not use mobile phones, parents were advised last night after an authoritative report linked heavy use to ear and brain tumours and concluded that the risks had been underestimated by most scientists.

Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), said that evidence of potentially harmful effects had become more persuasive over the past five years.

The news prompted calls for phones to carry health warnings and panic in parts of the industry. One British manufacturer immediately suspended a model aimed at four to eight-year-olds.

The number of mobiles in Britain has doubled to 50 million since the first government-sponsored report in 2000. The number of children aged between five and nine using mobiles has increased fivefold in the same period.

In his report, Mobile Phones and Health, Sir William said that four studies have caused concern. One ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy mobile users are more prone to non-malignant tumours in the ear and brain while a Dutch study had suggested changes in cognitive function. A German study has hinted at an increase in cancer around base stations, while a project supported by the EU had shown evidence of cell damage from fields typical of those of mobile phones.

“All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Sir William said. If there was a health risk — which remained unproven — it would have a greater effect on the young than on older people, he added.

For children aged between 8 and 14, parents had to make their own judgments about the risks and benefits. “I can’t believe that for three to eight year-olds they can be readily justified,” he said.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, called last night for a ban on mobiles in schools.

Mobile phone companies reacted furiously, saying that the report fanned public concern without presenting new research. The youth market is highly lucrative because teenagers are more likely to use video downloads and other services.

The World Health Organisation is preparing to publish an international report, drawing on hundreds of studies conducted over a decade, which many hope will give a definitive judgment on mobile phone safety.

The board’s report says that while there is a lack of hard information of damage to health, the approach should be precautionary. Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”

One school in the North East has begun using mobile scanners to prevent pupils using mobiles in class. “Outside college hours it is up to parents, but in our care if mobiles are found on children, they are confiscated and returned to the parents,” David Riden, vice principal of Tollbar Business and Enterprise College in New Waltham, said.

One group that appears to target young users is Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, which derives much of its revenue from the 16s-35s market. It denies targeting under 16s but has cornered a large slice of the youth market with cheap voice and text messages.

[Glengoyne]

There have been a number of people that have proclaimed this danger, yet when it has been looked into there is nothing. The most compelling evidence as I understand it is all anecdotal. As in:"I used the cell phone three to four hours a day, and I got a tumor shaped almost exactly like my cell phone running between my ear and my jaw."

I wouldn't be too worried about your niece.

[Yossarian]

Its one of those controversial debates that often gets very hot but doesn't shed much light.

I've read a few papers - my opinion from them is that yeah, cell phone (mobile phones) do do damage.

But how much damage.. and whether or not the damage is significant enough to warrent avoiding them, i'm not sure yet.

It seems that if you use the phone a lot for a long number of years you could be in trouble. I think that eventually, the industry will come up with good enough tech that negates any practical effect of using a phone and thus most people won't be effected by the risks...

But like the global warming thing.. .you could argue days and days and days on X report verses Y paper verses Z comments etc...

There's probably something bad they do to you... but what? is the question..

[Buzzbee]

So, does this mean that if I'm talking on the cell phone using a headset, I shouldn't put the phone in my lap?

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

“All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Sir William said. If there was a health risk — which remained unproven — it would have a greater effect on the young than on older people, he added.

Originally Posted by JeeberD

The board’s report says that while there is a lack of hard information of damage to health, the approach should be precautionary. Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”

Studies that haven't been replicated, and a lack of hard information of damage, and yet everyone is prepared to ban them? These reports have been coming out for years, and every attempt to duplicate results of a study that claims damage has failed. More fearmongering.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Studies that haven't been replicated, and a lack of hard information of damage, and yet everyone is prepared to ban them? These reports have been coming out for years, and every attempt to duplicate results of a study that claims damage has failed. More fearmongering.

Fully agree. In fact the quote about the college doesn't even mention that they don't allow the phones in school due to health reasons. Most likely they ban them because they don't want students disrupting the class.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

So, does this mean that if I'm talking on the cell phone using a headset, I shouldn't put the phone in my lap?

I don't know about you, but for me, it would take a lot more than anecdotal evidence to get me to stop using my cellphone altogether. However, if my cousin's best friend's sister's daughter's redneck cousin in Arkansas says that his *ahem* lap *ahem* is not working right anymore b/c he put his cell phone in his lap while using a headset, then I'll be damned sure not to put my cell phone in my lap ever again.