WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk

WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk

www.cnn.com

Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.

Before its announcement Tuesday, WHO had assured consumers that no adverse health effects had been established.

A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Ehhh .... I dont really buy it, but rumors like this have been in the news for nearly two decades. How many times have we seen this story (or ones like it regarding high tension power lines) over the years. So whats the concensus ... true, false, or misleading? Are stories like this more likely to cause you to alter your behavior?

www.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

It's all in your heads!

Literally.

Now how many of you are going to give up your cell phones to avoid the risk of cancer and brain tumors?

99% probability that no one will be doing that..... 20 years from now, when it is proven, and millions are dying from incurable cancer caused by cell phone usage... Don't bitch, because, you've been warned.

I think if it was proven, then you'd see numerous after-market companies out there developing shielding cases etc
Yes, there are some out there now, but I find it hard to believe that their $20 sticker, or light up antenna, or shiny plastic case stops radiation...

I thought this was pretty common knowledge, but I guess that's because it's something that I've talked about with pretty much everyone I know.

Originally posted by Fractured.Facade
Now how many of you are going to give up your cell phones to avoid the risk of cancer and brain tumors?

Well, I can't because of work. But the measure I've taken is that I always use the speaker phone. And if for some reason I can't use the speaker function, I wait until after the call has been connected before putting the phone by my head.

I also always have the phone out of my pockets, away from my body, when I'm sitting somewhere.

And for laptops... well... you shouldn't have them on your lap.

Gee really? I remember doing a school expose on that... about what... 10 years ago?

The WHO is a joke.

I can so see new businesses latching onto this and profiteering off the fear and making new add on products.
Like extension speakers that plug into your mobile that have wires long enough to put the phone on the other side of the room (or even outside the house entirely) ...........and even maybe remote control phone answering so you don't have to be anywhere near the phone to even answer it.

That way the only time you really touch the phone is when you are outdoors or at a club or pub for example. Limiting your exposure.

And for a long time they have denied the mobile/cellphone cancer link.
So this is really big NEWS even though we've known for ages about the risks.

From the CNN article linked in the OP:

The type of radiation coming out of a cell phone is called non-ionizing. It is not like an X-ray, but more like a very low-powered microwave oven.

"What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain. So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones."

The part of all this that creeps me out is the fact that when you have a cell phone to your ear, & the nearest microwave dish handling the call is on the opposite side of your head from the phone, the microwave transmission is going through your skull & its contents. Waiting until the call is connected before holding the phone to your ear doesn't afford much help, as the two-way microwave transmission continues for the duration of the call.

Since the development of better internal antennae, most phones nowadays don't have a longer, extensible antenna, which would at least keep the signal a bit more above your head when using the phone. Earpieces (like Bluetooth or equivalents) are supposed to be better, but the majority of people I see still have their phones held to their ears.

All of the above is not to overlook the fact that most of us are now exposed to much more microwave traffic when outside, especially in crowded urban areas, where cell phone use is practically the rule, rather than the exception.
I'd like to say that I hope it turns out that there's nothing harmful in such widespread, addictive (for some) use of cell phones, but in this particular case, I don't think that's a likely possibility.

ETA: I do have one myself, but it's mainly for use in the event of my getting stranded on the highway somewhere due to a car breakdown, or for the occasional phone call I forgot to make before leaving home. I've also been known to do a bit of texting, but otherwise, I must possess one of the most under-used cell phones in the US.

See I sleep with my cell phone next to me for an alarm clock, and for a while I wondered why I woke up with a horrible headache. Guess it isn't quite smart to have an electromagnetic device around your head 20-4-7. Doesn't help I have the radio on to fall asleep either.

reply to post by SirMike


This is what they've pretty much been saying for as long as I can remember. It's especially hazardous towards young children.

Best way to guard against it is to use a hands free or at very least a flip style phone which keeps the antennae longer away from your head.

No wonder people have such bad memories, they are holding microwaves to the 'memory area' of the brain.

But let me explain why there isn't so-called "Proof" of just how bad this is and why there aren't more cases of cancer. If you start smoking cigarettes, you probably won't develop cancer for 20+ years. We're probably looking at the same time frame for how long it takes cell phones to cause cancer. Sure, cell phones have been around since the 80s, but never have they been near as widespread in use today. Let's just assume that by 2000 everyone(by everyone I mean 95%+ of adults) had a cell phone, this isn't true but this is a hypothetical situation. That means people wouldn't start getting brain cancer, read death, until 2020 or so. The point is that it's really hard to have a long-term study done on something that just started being widespread 10 years ago. And if they are already now seeing cases of cancer develop, it probably lends credence to the hypothetical scenario that I wrote to actually happen.
Why would the WHO lie in this instance? If anything, they'd be the ones covering this up.
Try to use a cellphone as seldom as possible.

How could it possibly be bad for me to walk around with a device cemented to my head that literally constantly shoots radiation into my temple so that I can talk to anyone on the planet whenever I want?

Surprising news is surprising.

There has been an active cover up for decades trying to hide the ugly truth about cell phones and radiation hazards.

For example older phone models overheat quickly, this poses a heat radiation danger and can cook your tissue. (At least my old phone would!)

Also, even once they got that issue taken care of we still have electromagnetics to deal with !

I feel vindicated. I have been saying cell phones were a health risk for years.

And what happened? The MSM posted articles saying there was NO LINK at all! That it was all rumors and bull.

Than why do cell phone manufacturers always put warnings in their instruction manuals for these devices? It says clearly do not put it closer than and inch or two from your head. Why?

Anyways, it's always cool to find out you were right about a conspiracy since it was just common sense science really. But it sucks to find out you are right when the truth is that you are being irradiated and growing cancerous tumors? Yeah, poor trade off.

Originally posted by Ghost375
No wonder people have such bad memories, they are holding microwaves to the 'memory area' of the brain.

But let me explain why there isn't so-called "Proof" of just how bad this is and why there aren't more cases of cancer. If you start smoking cigarettes, you probably won't develop cancer for 20+ years. We're probably looking at the same time frame for how long it takes cell phones to cause cancer. Sure, cell phones have been around since the 80s, but never have they been near as widespread in use today. Let's just assume that by 2000 everyone(by everyone I mean 95%+ of adults) had a cell phone, this isn't true but this is a hypothetical situation. That means people wouldn't start getting brain cancer, read death, until 2020 or so. The point is that it's really hard to have a long-term study done on something that just started being widespread 10 years ago. And if they are already now seeing cases of cancer develop, it probably lends credence to the hypothetical scenario that I wrote to actually happen.
Why would the WHO lie in this instance? If anything, they'd be the ones covering this up.
Try to use a cellphone as seldom as possible.

Griffith University QLD Australia did a repeatab le experiment on the effect of Cell phone radiation on cells. They found that it substantially reduced the cell membrane wall making it easier for carcinogens and other nasties to invade the cell. I was working in the industry at the time and this barely made the paper. There is a lot of money in communications. Instead of working out how to make it safer the info was ostracized by the media instead of promoted.

The day of reckoning for all the skeptics and Naysayers is I told you so! It is now recognized even though for years Australian Neurologists have been giving evidence on this.

Im in my early 30's and I have never and still dont use or own a Cellphone (number of times ive used one i could count on one hand)... mainly because of what some where saying way back and what all the others have over the decades have 'half' admitted too. Heck when my friend used to throw his cellphone into my lap for me to hold it while he was driving it used to irk me immensely, id always pic it up and hold it at arms length without him realizing what i was doing.

Expect a counter claim from the Cellphone industry in a few days as always happens...

They'd be fine if they where used like they where back in the 90's ie rarely... these days they are being used 24/7 by multipal people of all ages, in even a single house hold.

My sisters have theirs on and in use every hour every day non stop, and im sure every other person their age and younger are too. If someone wants to get in contact with me, use my landlines. The only Cellphone ill ever use is one that would be found in a car, and whats only real use is would be for emergencies.

I doubt they will ever come out and say they do cause cancer, to much profit and big toes to step on in saying that... money is valued more than general health, sad really...

Well, if they can increase brain cancer risk in the skull, I would imagine they could also create mutation risks in the testes while in the pocket causing birth defects or infertility.

Originally posted by GalacticJoe
Well, if they can increase brain cancer risk in the skull, I would imagine they could also create mutation risks in the testes while in the pocket causing birth defects or infertility.

Did you know that laptop computers can cause infertility?

It's simple really.

You put the laptop on your lap and leave it there for a long time. The device gets warm and over time, warms the temperature of your genitalia by a few degrees. Just a few degrees and now your organs are being damaged.

Over a period of months or years of this punishment, and you get the picture. Permanent damage has been done.

To throw in a conspiracy angle at it for you, why do you think they want to give cheap laptops to every kid in the 3rd world nations? But my kid here in the USA doesn't have a free laptop....

Yeah. I'd call that a potential conspiracy. Someones trying to reduce the birth rates of the 3rd world...

Here's another article on the news concerning the cancer risk of cellphones..

WHO Says Cell Phone Radiation Is "Possibly Carcinogenic." Now What?

...It's not clear exactly how much of an elevated cancer risk cell-phone users might face, or even the biological methods by which cell-phone radiation could cause brain tumors. (The radiation emitted by cell phones is non-ionizing, meaning that it shouldn't have enough energy to damage body tissue the way that ionizing — and carcinogenic — X-ray radiation can.) But IARC says that the results of epidemiological studies of cell-phone users, including the data from last year's rather problematic Interphone study, indicate an association between handset use and tumors.

That's notable because until now, the WHO had reported that "no adverse health effects have been established for mobile-phone use." (In fact, that website is still up.) While medical muckrakers like Dr. Devra Davis, who wrote a 2010 book on cell phones and cancer called Disconnect, and academics like Dr. Henry Lai have questioned the possible role that cell-phone radiation could play in brain tumors, the mainstream medical establishment has all but dismissed any risk, along with most governments including the U.S...

This news does not really comes as a surprise to me.
Surprising though, that it is the WHO admitting it.

Interesting as well, that it's not based on a NEW study, but on several OLD studies, which they checked again.
Guess who paid the studies in the first place.

Another topic to adress would be WIFI's; nowaday everybody is using them, or is exposed to them.
And they normally are much stronger, than the cellphones...

reply to post by SirMike


Don't you see, its another form of population control!!

^Sarcasm^