U.S. cell phone use has quadrupled over the last decade to about 280 million customers.
Meanwhile, brain cancer remains as rare as ever. A city the size of St. Petersburg can expect only about 20 new cases a year.
Nevertheless, nagging worries that cell phones cause brain cancer continue to gain traction.
Just this month, two sources of popular health wisdom — Prevention magazine and Dr. Mehmet Oz on his new TV show — warned against cell phones and other devices that emit electromagnetic radiation.
We plaster cell phones right next to our skulls, they noted. Kids who text friends at night hide activated Nokias or LG's under their pillows, just inches from their developing brains.
Not to mention the doomsday scenario: What if symptoms don't appear for 20 or 30 years, as with smoking and lung cancer? Might a lethal invader already have its beachhead?
The Interphone study, a World Health Organization compilation of studies from 13 nations, is due out any day. Different countries found conflicting results, so authors struggled to craft a joint conclusion. But many observers predict that — at the very least — the report will include cautionary language about phones.
"In light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect of radio frequency radiation, precautions are important,'' then-study coordinator Elisabeth Cardis told the London Daily Telegraph last year. "I am therefore globally in agreement with the idea of restricting the use by children.''
Reputable authorities — like the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — have largely discounted a cell phone-cancer link. And most of the 13 country studies found little connection — at least not to the "statistically significant'' level that is academia's gold standard.
On the other hand, Israel's Health Ministry urged parents last year to restrict children's cell phone use after the study there indicated a rise in salivary gland tumors among heavy cell phone users — particularly in rural areas where phones must pump out more energy to reach far-flung cell towers.
News Source:- http://www.tampabay.com
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