Are mobile phones dangerous?

All the independently-funded studies that included long term users have found an association between mobile phone use and an increased risk of brain tumours amongst adults Some studies have found that people who have used mobile phones for more than a decade have 200% more brain tumours, and only on the side of the head where the user holds the phone. Read more details of the studies here...

Nobody can tell how big the increased risk is yet because scientists don’t know how many years someone has to use a mobile phone to increase their chances of a brain tumour. Many scientists believe that the studies done so far, which at most show the risks of people who have used their mobile phone for about 10 years, are only showing the tip of the iceberg and that the risk will peak after 20 or more years of use.

Lung cancer takes between 15 and 35 years to manifest, and there could be a similar time lag between starting mobile phone use and contracting cancer. Read more...

There is evidence of other health problems associated with mobile phone use, not just brain tumours. A mobile phone doesn’t just expose the head.

Studies indicate that microwave radiation has many othereffects on health. These include impaired fertility, pre-natal damage and an increased risk of a range of illnesses, like lymphoma, leukaemia, breast cancer and Alzheimers. Sometimes, the radiation produces short-term symptoms like headaches, nausea, sleep disturbance and depression.

What do scientists think?

Scientists have been raising the alarm about the risks of mobile phones. In 2007 a group of 14 experts published the Bio-Initiative Report, which reviewed the science relating to the health effects of mobile phones and wireless technology and found that current standards are not safe.

Following the Bio-Initiative Report, a number of governments and the European Parliament changed its advice and the French government has announced legislation to ban advertising of mobile phones to children. Read more...

In May 2009, 5 scientists published a review of the long-term epidemiologic data in a respected scientific journal, Surgical Neurology, which concluded that "there is adequate epidemiologic evidence to suggest a link between prolonged cell phone usage and the development of an ipsilateral [same-side] brain tumour."

The EU Envronment Agency has said that it believes scientific evidence is now more strongly in favour of a link between long-term use of mobile phones and brain cancer risk and is calling for regulations to guard against head tumours.

In October 2009 the Radiation Research Trust issued the Fifteen Reasons for Concern report endorsed by more than 40 scientists, discussing the scientific landscape surrounding mobile phone health risks, especially the multinational Interphone Study commissioned by World Health Organisation. The Fifteen Reasons paper calls on governments to give the highest priority to actions including banning marketing campaigns of cellphones designed solely for children, fincancing a wide-ranging awareness campaign aimed at young people to minimize their exposures to cellphone radiation and requiring warning labels on all wireless devices.

More dangerous for children

Research shows that radiation penetrates more deeply into a child's head and also that children’s thinner skulls absorb much more radiation than an adult’s. A Spanish study found that a single call lasting just two minutes, can alter the natural electrical activity of a child’s brain for up to an hour afterwards. Read more...

Another study found that children who had used a mobile phone before they were 20 had five times more chance of getting a brain tumour later in life. That five times greater risk might be the tip of the iceberg because there is every chance the risks increase the longer the phone is used. The increase in risk could turn out to be much greater when the full long-term effects have been studied in the future.

Additionally we do not yet know how significant the impact of exposure to other new radiation sources, like cordless phones, wi-fi, Bluetooth, baby listening monitors and games consoles, will be or how the different sources interact in their effect on children's bodies.

These now ubiquitous products add to the radiation “load” experienced by children growing up today but the effects of long-term exposure to them are untested Many scientists fear for the impact this will have when today’s children grow up. Read more ...

So when you piece together all the studies, there is a strong indication that this radiation is unsafe at levels our children are being exposed to. How dangerous, and how big the impact on our children’s long-term health, is unknown.

There is every possibility that the use of mobile phones now by children and teenagers could be increasing their risks dramatically. Their exposure to microwave radiation is literally millions of times greater than their bodies have evolved to deal with because naturally occurring levels of microwave radiation are negligible. It is as if they are guinea pigs in a global experiment of unprecedented proportions.

The UK Chief Medical Officers have advised against non-essential use of a mobile phone by children. The French government has announced it is going to ban advertising of mobile phones to children. Read more...

Thinking of buying a mobile phone for your child?...