Because cell phones have been widely used for only about 20 years in most countries, it is not possible to rule out possible future health effects. Second, cell phone usage is constantly changing. People are using their cell phones much more than they were even 10 years ago, and the phones themselves are very different from what was used in the past. This makes it hard to know if the results of studies looking at cell phone use in years past still apply today.
Third, most of the studies published so far have focused on adults, rather than children. One case-control study looking at children and teens did not find a significant link to brain tumors, but the small size of the study limited its power to detect modest risks. Cell phone use is now widespread even among younger children. It is possible that if there are health effects, they might be more pronounced in children because their bodies might be more sensitive to RF energy.
Finally, the measurement of cell phone use in most studies has been crude. In these types of studies, it can be hard to interpret any possible link between cancer and an exposure. People with cancer are often thinking about possible reasons for it, so they may sometimes recall their phone usage differently from people without cancer.
With these limitations in mind, it is important to continue to study the possible risk of cell phone exposure, especially with regard to use by children and longer-term use. The American Cancer Society ACS does not have any official position or statement on whether or not radiofrequency RF radiation from cell phones, cell phone towers, or other sources is a cause of cancer.
ACS generally looks to other expert organizations to determine if something causes cancer that is, if it is a carcinogen , including:. Other major organizations also sometimes comment on the ability of certain exposures such as cell phone use to cause cancer. More recently, the US Food and Drug Administration FDA issued a technical report based on studies published between and , as well as national trends in cancer rates.
So far, the National Toxicology Program NTP has not included RF radiation in its Report on Carcinogens , which lists exposures that are known to be or reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.
For more on this report, see Known and Probable Human Carcinogens. Those evaluating the potential risks of using wireless devices agree that more and longer-term studies should explore whether there is a better basis for RF safety standards than is currently used. Scientific studies are underway to determine whether cell phone use may cause health effects. It is not clear at this time that RF waves from cell phones cause harmful health effects in people, but studies now being done should give a clearer picture of the possible health effects in the future.
Until more is known, there are several things that people who are concerned about RF waves can do to limit their exposure. Berkeley News spoke with Moskowitz about the health risks of cellphone radiation, why the topic is so controversial and what we can expect with the rollout of 5G.
Joel Moskowitz: Well, first of all, few scientists in this country can speak knowledgeably about the health effects of wireless technology. In , the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, adopted exposure guidelines that limited the intensity of exposure to radiofrequency radiation. These guidelines were designed to prevent significant heating of tissue from short-term exposure to radiofrequency radiation, not to protect us from the effects of long-term exposure to low levels of modulated, or pulsed, radiofrequency radiation, which is produced by cellphones, cordless phones and other wireless devices, including Wi-Fi.
Yet, the preponderance of research published since finds adverse biologic and health effects from long-term exposure to radiofrequency radiation, including DNA damage. More than scientists, who have published over 2, papers and letters in professional journals on the biologic and health effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields produced by wireless devices, including cellphones, have signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal , which calls for health warnings and stronger exposure limits.
So, there are many scientists who agree that this radiation is harmful to our health. I got into this field by accident, actually. During the past 40 years, the bulk of my research has been focused on tobacco-related disease prevention. I first became interested in cellphone radiation in , when Dr. He was involved in our smoking cessation projects, and we worked with him and his colleagues on two reviews of the literature, one of which addressed the tumor risk from cellphone use.
At that time, I was skeptical that cellphone radiation could be harmful. However, since I was dubious that cellphone radiation could cause cancer, I immersed myself in the literature regarding the biological effects of low-intensity microwave radiation, emitted by cellphones and other wireless devices. Transportable phones are also known as "bag phones. Because they are most commonly stored inside the car with the phone user, or carried by the phone user, bag phones can be a greater source of RF exposure than mobile phones.
Transportable telephone use is declining as portable phones become more popular. Mobile phones , also called "car phones," usually have an antenna mounted on the outside of a car-on the window, fender, roof, or trunk.
The antenna of a cellular phone is the phone's primary source of radio frequency. The metal surface of a car provides a shield between the mobile phone user and the energy associated with the antenna. The physical distance between the mobile phone user and the antenna also serves as protection against RF energy.
Because of these two obstacles-the metal car surface and the physical separation-users of mobile phones are thought to have little exposure to RF energy.
Neurologic effects are of particular concern in young persons. However, studies of memory, learning, and cognitive function have generally produced inconsistent results 46 — In , the International Agency for Research on Cancer IARC , a component of the World Health Organization, appointed an expert working group to review all available evidence on the use of cell phones.
The working group indicated that, although the human studies were susceptible to bias, the findings could not be dismissed as reflecting bias alone, and that a causal interpretation could not be excluded. The working group noted that any interpretation of the evidence should also consider that the observed associations could reflect chance, bias, or confounding variables rather than an underlying causal effect. In addition, the working group stated that the investigation of brain cancer risk associated with cell phone use poses complex research challenges.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences NIEHS states that the weight of the current scientific evidence has not conclusively linked cell phone use with any adverse health problems, but more research is needed.
The US Food and Drug Administration FDA notes that studies reporting biological changes associated with radiofrequency radiation have failed to be replicated and that the majority of human epidemiologic studies have failed to show a relationship between exposure to radiofrequency radiation from cell phones and health problems. The Federal Communications Commission FCC concludes that currently no scientific evidence establishes a definite link between wireless device use and cancer or other illnesses.
In , the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks concluded that, overall, the epidemiologic studies on cell phone radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation exposure do not show an increased risk of brain tumors or of other cancers of the head and neck region 9. The committee also stated that epidemiologic studies do not indicate increased risk for other malignant diseases, including childhood cancer 9.
A large prospective cohort study of cell phone use and its possible long-term health effects was launched in Europe in March Participants in COSMOS completed a questionnaire about their health, lifestyle, and current and past cell phone use when they joined the study.
This information will be supplemented with information from health records and cell phone records. The challenge of this ambitious study is to continue following the participants for a range of health effects over many decades. Researchers will need to determine whether participants who leave the study are somehow different from those who remain throughout the follow-up period. Although recall bias is minimized in studies such as COSMOS that link participants to their cell phone records, such studies face other problems.
For example, it is impossible to know who is using the listed cell phone or whether that individual also places calls using other cell phones. To a lesser extent, it is not clear whether multiple users of a single phone, for example family members who may share a device, will be represented on a single phone company account.
Additionally, for many long-term cohort studies, participation tends to decline over time. There are theoretical considerations as to why the possible risk should be investigated separately in children. Their nervous systems are still developing and, therefore, more vulnerable to factors that may cause cancer.
Their heads are smaller than those of adults and consequently have a greater proportional exposure to radiation emitted by cell phones. And, children have the potential of accumulating more years of cell phone exposure than adults. Thus far, the data from studies in children with cancer do not suggest that children are at increased risk of developing cancer from cell phone use.
The study included children who were diagnosed with brain tumors between and at the ages of 7 to 19 years. Researchers did not find an association between cell phone use and brain tumor risk by time since initiation of use, by amount of use, or by the location of the tumor Several studies that will provide more information are under way. Researchers in Spain are conducting another international case—control study, known as Mobi-Kids , which will include 2, young people aged 10—24 years with newly diagnosed brain tumors and 4, healthy young people.
FDA is responsible for testing and evaluating electronic product radiation and providing information for the public about the radiofrequency energy emitted by cell phones.
FCC sets limits on the emissions of radiofrequency energy by cell phones and similar wireless products. The dose of the energy that people absorb from any source of radiation is estimated using a measure called the specific absorption rate SAR , which is expressed in watts per kilogram of body weight The SAR decreases very quickly as the distance to the exposure source increases. For cell phone users who hold their phones next to their head during voice calls, the highest exposure is to the brain, acoustic nerve, salivary gland, and thyroid.
SARs for older phones can be found by checking the phone settings or by contacting the manufacturer. FDA has suggested some steps that concerned cell phone users can take to reduce their exposure to radiofrequency radiation 53 :. Use of wired or wireless headsets reduces the amount of radiofrequency radiation exposure to the head because the phone is not placed against the head Exposures decline dramatically when cell phones are used hands-free. Menu Contact Dictionary Search. Understanding Cancer.
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