Play It Again Sam..."Cell Phones Can Lead to Tumor"

[Brad Isaac]

As many of us are cell phone users, I thought this was pertinant. First, scientists said that cell phones can cause brain tumors in monkeys. Then they said that they might have been wrong and that cell phone radiation doesn't cause tumors. Now a Swedish study indicates that if you use a cell phone at least 10 years you might be at higher risk of a rare and benign tumor on the side of your head where you hold your phone.
"Several previous studies have investigated whether the use of cell phones is linked to an increased risk of brain tumors. Although experiments have shown radiation from mobile phones can affect brain cells in a lab, more relevant studies on people have found no evidence that the phones pose a health risk. However, experts have said that because children's brains are developing, it may not be a good idea for youngsters to use the phones for long periods.
The three-year study by Ahlbom and Maria Feychting, professors at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, focused on 750 Swedes who had used cell phones for at least 10 years. It was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
In the study, researchers questioned 150 patients already diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor on the auditory nerve that takes several years to grow before being diagnosed, and 600 who did not have it, about their cell phone use. " source: EWeek.
So what do you think? Is there really a cause and effect relationship between cell phones and tumors? If this is true, will you decrease or illiminate your cell usage?

[knelson]

then the answer is use a head set?

[bluemax]

This study had some pretty narrow results. First the study only indicated that people using older analogue phones had the problem. There was no tie between these and newer digital phones. Things we know about radiation (even from cell phones) is that it will change cells. The rules are this -
1. power - more is worse
2. duration of exposure - longer is worse
3. frequency - higher is worse
Cell phones put out very little power in the grand scheme of things. Power lines probably put out more.
Duration - less exposure is always better. I think some people have had their phones grafted on though.
Frequency - we use high frequencies to cook food but power lines use very low frequencies. Both have a biologic effect but all three tell the truth.
I personally don't like cell phones. I spend most of my day on a phone at work and don't need to have one follow me around when I'm off. Some people can't seem to get enough though. They are the ones to worry about.
There are a lot of things that emit radiation in our lives. Cordless keyboards, phones and many other things are designed to emit. Some things do it just because of the way they work. Newer computers put out a lot of very high frequency radiation. Most is contained by metal shielding but not all and not in all cases.
I don't know that a headset is going to change the exposure to radiation. It will just move the location to a different part of the body. There are some pretty sensitive organs near that belt clip.

[Brad Isaac]

I use a bluetooth headset. Wonder how much radiation that emits...

[knelson]

I have 4 kids and my senstive organs near the belt clip have already been clipped so I am fine.

[Ajay_Rathod]

People usually have tedency to keep cell phone in their shirt pocket. It means they are at higher risk of getting heat attack in future. Isn't it?

[Hantra]

I think studies like this are very interesting, but I don't have much faith in them.
For every study that says this, you can find one that says the opposite. For example, there are government funded studies that say radiation from nuclear explosions causes a huge percentage of deaths from cancer years afterwards, as in Hiroshima.
There are studies not funded by the government that say the opposite. In fact, I read a study saying that cancer rates among people in Hiroshima/Nagasaki are LOWER than the average in the rest of the country, and even in the rest of the world. There have been studies of people who work in high rad areas such as nuke plants, subs, carriers, and even nuclear medicine workers. And again, they allegedly have LOWER instances of cancer than their counterparts who are not exposed.
There are also studies that say people with Radon in their homes are less likely to develop cancer than those living in areas of lower Radon concentration.
So who knows what to believe? I'll bet we could study anything and make the results look whatever way we wanted.
Not sure why the Swedes would have an interest in creating results, unless they are about to launch Ikea cancer-free mobile phones to compete with Nokia.

[wbuch]

Originally Posted by bluemax

3. frequency - higher is worse

That's actually not quite true in general. For non-ionizing radiation (like in cell phones) what matters is the effect the specific frequency has on water. Microwave ovens use a frequency of about 2.45 GHz. Interestingly though, that's not the frequency at which water is most stimulated. The frequency is actually somewhat higher than that (not sure what it is) but the reason they chose to use the lower 2.45 GHz frequency is precisely because it wasn't optimal -- it allows more of the radiation to pass into the food and therefore cook it more evenly. If they used the "optimal" frequency, the food would get cooked from the outside in.
Now, having said all that, for the specific case of cell phones, since they are all below 2.45 GHz -- yes, probably higher is worse.

[Bright_Clarita]

It is really frightening to read such research. But mobiles has become such a integrated object of life, that no one can think of discarding it.