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WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk

Chappy

Chappy

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Excerpted from “WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk” By Danielle Dellorto, CNN, May 31, 2011 1:49 p.m. EDT
[SIZE="+2"]R[/SIZE]adiation 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. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as "possibly carcinogenic to humans." …
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Yet another product that when used as directed may harm you over the long haul. And, of course, it's the kids that are most at risk from a lifetime of exposure.

“We should follow the positions taken by the tech-savvy Israelis and Finns, and urge simple precautions to keep cell phones from the brain and body, adopting the ALARA principle--(from radiation biology...As Low as Reasonably Achievable) technology …” — Dr. Devra Davis, e-mail, TIME, Tuesday, May 31, 2011​

Read more: A WHO Team of Researchers Conclude That Cell Phones Are "Possibly Carcinogenic" - - TIME Healthland

And, there was this report last week.

Excerpted from “Researchers Say New Studies Confirm Cell Phone Hazards; "Stunning proof" ignored in North America, scientists say” By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com, 05/23/2011
[SIZE="+2"]N[/SIZE]ow, a group of international researchers meeting in Istanbul, Turkey has released what they call “stunning proof” that confirms findings from the Council of Europe -- pulsed digital signals from cell phones disrupt DNA, impair brain function and lower sperm count.

A meeting convened by Environmental Health Trust, with the Turkish cancer society, and Gazi University, revealed the new research that the scientists say shows damage to DNA, brain and sperm.

Nesrin Seyhan, an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) and NATO and head of the Biophysics Department and Bioelectromagnetics Laboratory at Gazi University in Ankara, presented findings that he says confirm the warning that just four hours of exposure to cell phone radiation disrupts the ability of human brain cells to repair damaged genes. …
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Simple solution: speakerphone.

Next...
 
soccerboy22 said:
My generation is boned.
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Your generation will live longer than any generation before it. Sheesh.

Check out what your average 20-year old dude faced in the early 1900s, or better yet, the Middle Ages.
 
Chappy said:
Yet another product that when used as directed may harm you over the long haul. And, of course, it's the kids that are most at risk from a lifetime of exposure.

“We should follow the positions taken by the tech-savvy Israelis and Finns, and urge simple precautions to keep cell phones from the brain and body, adopting the ALARA principle--(from radiation biology...As Low as Reasonably Achievable) technology …” — Dr. Devra Davis, e-mail, TIME, Tuesday, May 31, 2011​

Read more: A WHO Team of Researchers Conclude That Cell Phones Are "Possibly Carcinogenic" - - TIME Healthland

And, there was this report last week.
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Just setting the stage for the great "Cell Phone" lawsuits to come. What's next?

Age restrictions for Cell Phones?

"Cell Phone Use Areas" that are at least 50' from public buildings?

"No Cell" use in public parks and areas?
 
I want to see the primary research that they used to come to their conclusion that cell phones can cause cancer. Are they saying that cell phone frequencies will mutate DNA? Are they forgetting that the sun does this along with thousands of other naturally occurring molecules and phenomena? We have proteins that exist to fix DNA mutations. I seriously doubt that there is any increased risk of cancer when using a cell phone.
 
Ikari said:
Or you can just go back to land lines, those didn't cause cancer.
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But they required electricity.....from coal mines......which cause global warming.

Yep, he's pretty much boned.
 
Life will kill you. I don't know why we're getting so up in arms over this.
 
The youth are completely immune to this. They don't even know their phones can make calls. It's just a texting device.
 
Now's the time to wear your tin-foil hats, folks.
 
Erod said:
The youth are completely immune to this. They don't even know their phones can make calls. It's just a texting device.
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That might be a good point. I text/social network far more than I talk on the phone. And when I DO make or receive a call I usually use the speaker function.
 
interesting that they produce no specifics... like X amount of cell phone use over Y amount of times increases your risk of cancer by Z percentage.
 
Whovian said:
interesting that they produce no specifics... like X amount of cell phone use over Y amount of times increases your risk of cancer by Z percentage.
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My guess:

Doc: "Do you have cancer?"
Patient: "Yes, yes I do"
Doc: "Do you own or use a cell phone?"
Patient: "yes, yes I do"
Doc: "Oh my god, there is a direct relation between cancer and cell phones...I better call the WHO!"
 
Also, I wonder if the studies the WHO studied here include those studies that found no correlation between cell phone use and possible harmful effects... or did they simply use the studies that fit what they expected to find?
 
Whovian said:
Also, I wonder if the studies the WHO studied here include those studies that found no correlation between cell phone use and possible harmful effects... or did they simply use the studies that fit what they expected to find?
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The W.H.O.'s actually position is that it is possible that there might be a small correlation to cell phone use and cancer...but they are not sure. So, like working in construction, cell phone use is considered a "carcinogen".
 
My cell phone gives me headaches after long calls, so now I just put it on speaker phone. I do agree that there is a health risk even though I don't have proof of it. It's low frequency microwave radiation. That has to do something if you're in a 1.5 hour phone call!
 
Temporal said:
My cell phone gives me headaches after long calls, so now I just put it on speaker phone. I do agree that there is a health risk even though I don't have proof of it. It's low frequency microwave radiation. That has to do something if you're in a 1.5 hour phone call!
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I agree. This probably only effects those who talk constantly on their cell phone for hours on end.

We're going to have a lot less women.
 
From the actual Press Release from WHO:

The evidence was reviewed critically, and overall evaluated as being limited2 among users of wireless telephones for glioma and acoustic neuroma, and inadequate3 to draw conclusions for other types of cancers. The evidence from the occupational and environmental exposures mentioned above was similarly judged inadequate. The Working Group did not quantitate the risk; however, one study of past cell phone use (up to the year 2004), showed a 40% increased risk for gliomas in the highest category of heavy users (reported average: 30 minutes per day over a 10‐year period).
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and Finally:

Conclusions
Dr Jonathan Samet (University of Southern California, USA), overall Chairman of the Working Group, indicated that "the evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion and the 2B classification. The conclusion means that there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk.""Given the potential consequences for public health of this classification and findings," said IARC Director Christopher Wild, "it is important that additional research be conducted into the long‐term, heavy use of mobile phones. Pending the availability of such information, it is important to take pragmatic measures to reduce exposure such as hands‐free devices or texting. "
The Working Group considered hundreds of scientific articles; the complete list will be published in the Monograph. It is noteworthy to mention that several recent in‐press scientific articles4 resulting from the Interphone study were made available to the working group shortly before it was due to convene, reflecting their acceptance for publication at that time, and were included in the evaluation.
A concise report summarizing the main conclusions of the IARC Working Group and the evaluations of the carcinogenic hazard from radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (including the use of mobile telephones) will be published in The Lancet Oncology in its July 1 issue, and in a few days online.
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This is the problem when CNN and the rest of the media get base their articles off of AP articles that don't actually look beyond the headline of the WHO press release. The working group did not find a connection between cell phone use and brain cancer, but there may be some risk and therefore we need to keep an eye on future studies. This is a much different conclusion then "Cell Phone Use Can Increase Possible Cancer Risk", though they technically are saying the same thing.
 
Erod said:
I agree. This probably only effects those who talk constantly on their cell phone for hours on end.

We're going to have a lot less women.
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How misogynist can you get.

Did it occur to you that I'm in a field that requires constant phone contact outside of the office?

Jerk.
 
Whovian said:
interesting that they produce no specifics... like X amount of cell phone use over Y amount of times increases your risk of cancer by Z percentage.
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There is insufficient data to make those kinds of conclusions.
 
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