Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'

[ugadawg5]

Independent.co.uk

 

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'

 

Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation

 

By Geoffrey Lean

Sunday, 30 March 2008

 

 

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

 

 

The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.

 

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.

 

He admits that mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours". He believes this will be "definitively proven" in the next decade.

 

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.

 

"It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking," says Professor Khurana, who told the IoS his assessment is partly based on the fact that three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents.

 

Late last week, the Mobile Operators Association dismissed Khurana's study as "a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual". It believes he "does not present a balanced analysis" of the published science, and "reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews".

[RICK8]

I don't make calls on my phone,just texting.

[Texasluvsjonny]

I work in a Neuro ICU and I haven't seen any evidence of this. However lately I have seen many people with brain tumors which are mets from lung cancer in people that smoke and talk on cell phones. Never thought about it but I guess it was the phone and not the ciggies that caused that. :rolleyes:

[TraceOddity]

I think they're about even. Even we smokers know that statistically, smoking will most likely kill us ef we don't stop.

[Darlene_Ihnfsa]

that's not new... here people is worried for the anteen radiations... many people blame those mobile anteen to be the cause of their cancer or leukemia :confused:

 

btw i had heard about mobile waves/radiations only that it made you be unfertile (men mainly) :uhoh:

 

(hope my not checked english terms are correctly or understandables).

[Jpw48]

Meh don't worry about it, there will be another study published in a few weeks saying the exact opposite. I take these things with a pinch of salt cos most of the time its just the media over-hyping stuff.

Remember bird flu? Point made! :p

[GazeboflossUK]

Meh don't worry about it, there will be another study published in a few weeks saying the exact opposite. I take these things with a pinch of salt cos most of the time its just the media over-hyping stuff.

Remember bird flu? Point made! :p

 

Yeah, a study backed or part funded by persons/companies with a connection to mobile phone operators or people who gain from the use of phones in some capacity.

 

Mobile phones probably should be used with caution. The government in the UK suggests not allowing young children to use mobile phones - yet this is seemingly ignored by most people.

[Black Rose]

Until they come out with solid proof that mobile phones kill more people than smoking, it won't stop anything.

[busybeeburns]

I don't make calls on my phone,just texting.

They'll get you too, but you'll also have RSI when you're on the way out :P

[Space Cadet]

Would certainly be interesting if this turned out to be true. Though I'm reluctant to trust results based on one single study. I remember when those big brick cell phones were just starting to catch on years ago, everyone was freaking out about them causing ear cancer, but then all sorts of studies were released to show there was no effect.

 

Honestly, if this turns out to be true, we ought to be way more worried about old microwaves- they give off way more radiation, especially when they start to leak after a couple of years.

[chuck kottke]

Risks..

 

I think the biggest concern ought to be Driving while using a cell phone:thinking:. =That causes more head and brain injuries than I can imagine any cancer risk would amount to, though both are important to consider.. I'll bet I saw at least 4 drivers on their phones, and it's not a good scene, especially with deer moving about, traffic at intersections, etc.

Still, one has to wonder why they (the manufacturers) couldn't attenuate the phone signal when it's being used in a home or in a parked vehicle - by adding a booster system in the vehicle/home/office, keeping the powerful broadcaster away from the user's head..(?) Well, maybe now they will!

Hmm.. I know of someone who's recently had surgery to remove a very small tumor in her brain.. Not something you want to see anyone go through, that's for sure! And she does not smoke, come to think of it..:thinking: It's something else when it hits close to home.

[Jpw48]

I think the biggest concern ought to be Driving while using a cell phone:thinking:. =That causes more head and brain injuries than I can imagine any cancer risk would amount to, though both are important to consider.. I'll bet I saw at least 4 drivers on their phones, and it's not a good scene, especially with deer moving about, traffic at intersections, etc.

 

This is already illegal in the UK, although its sadly been found to be very hard to enforce

[Black Rose]

This is already illegal in the UK, although its sadly been found to be very hard to enforce

 

Have you seen the amount of paperwork the police have to fill in?

 

They would prefer to sit on top of a bridge on a dual-carriageway with a speed gun to catch out motorists speeding.

[chuck kottke]

:laugh3:About the same here.. Seems like we may do ourselves in with too much technology! Maybe the brain cancer danger will curtail some use, as it's a scarier sounding risk, even though auto accidents are by far some of the most horrible ways to get hurt..