Patch Poll: How Afraid Are You About Getting Cancer from Your Cellphone?
Another study now says there is little to fear about cellphone use. But are you afraid enough about getting cancer from your cellphone that you have changed your cellphone habits?
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The results of a major study of nearly 360,000 cellphone users in Denmark that found no increased risk of brain tumors with long-term use was widely reported last week.
However, the New York Times reported that although the data, collected from one of the largest-ever studies of cellphone use, are reassuring, investigators noted that the design of the study focused on cellphone subscriptions rather than actual use, so it is unlikely to settle the debate about cellphone safety. A small to moderate increase in risk of cancer among heavy users of cellphones for 10 to 15 years or longer still “cannot be ruled out,” the investigators wrote.
An accompanying editorial in the British Journal of Medicine, which reported on the Danish study, noted that the results must be viewed in the context of about 15 previous studies on cellphones and cancer risk, including those that did detect an association between heavy cellphone use and certain brain tumors, the New York Times said.
One of those is the study the World Health Organization released about five months ago, which concluded that cellphones are “possibly carcinogenic," CNN reported. And last year the New York Times reported a 13-country study called Interphone also found no overall increased risk included that participants with the highest level of cellphone use had a 40 percent higher risk of glioma, an aggressive type of brain tumor. (Even if the elevated risk of glioma is confirmed, the tumors are relatively rare, and thus individual risk remains minimal.)
Have these studies influenced how you use your cellphone?
Last week's poll
Should there be a ban on eating while driving? A total of 72 percent of Patch readers who answered the poll said no; 28 percent said yes.
Among the reasons for 72 percent voting against a ban are the opinons that there is no need for more government interference in our lives but there is the need to multitask in today's world. Some of the 28 percent in favor of a ban said it is important to keep the roads safe with drivers doing nothing else but driving.
William Brinkman
6:30 am on Monday, October 24, 2011
This needs a fourth option: The vast majority of studies show that cell phones don't cause cancer.
Bob Gunnison
7:42 am on Monday, October 24, 2011
Come on! They said the same thing about cigarettes too when it was NEW and COOL to do........how many years later are they are stating what they always KNEW to be true. Don't be naive, just be smart and don't go crazy with cell phone use. Moderation is KEY here!
William Brinkman
6:38 am on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Microwaves do not have enough energy to break molecular bonds to cause cancer. This article goes into more detail: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-you-hear-me-now
There are also things that people "knew" to be unsafe that later turned out to be safe.
Bob Gunnison
7:54 am on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
I didn't say anything about Microwaves there Will. Im talking cellphones. More directly about SMARTPHONES. Please give an example of the UNSAFE item(s) that later on were proved safe.....otherwise too vague.
Dave Peterson
8:46 am on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Cellphones use radio frequencies in the lower end of the microwave band. The term "Microwave" may have been confusing. Microwave ovens use microwaves but so do microwave radio links, radar, police speed guns, modern mobile phones, etc. The energy of an electromagnetic wave (actually the energy of the photon) is proportional to the frequency of oscillation.
As for things once thought unsafe, the horseless carriage was considered an affront to natural laws since man was not meant to travel faster than 12 MPH.
Ken Kuchar
8:11 am on Monday, October 24, 2011
I agree with Bob - in San Francisco, cell phone manufacturers are required to put the amount of radiation emitted by their phones; I usually put phone on speaker to diminish the risk. I also have seen reputable research showing a link between cell phone use and cancer.
Bob LeMay
8:49 am on Monday, October 24, 2011
I don't use my cellphone enough to warrant any great concern.
Kathy Catrambone
5:28 pm on Monday, October 24, 2011
That's great, Bob. I wish I could say the same. I use my cellphone way too much.
Andrew Johnson
11:01 am on Monday, October 24, 2011
In last week's poll, 72% said "no" — the first sentence has it the wrong way round, although the subsequent comment is right.
Kathy Catrambone
5:27 pm on Monday, October 24, 2011
Thanks, Andrew, for your eagle eye. I corrected the error.
Mary Rudakas
6:34 pm on Monday, October 24, 2011
I heard about that new study and that there is some underlying corruption there... think of all the money at stake for the mobile industry if it becomes "mainstream" knowledge that radiation next to your brain is bad for you. I am playing it better safe than sorry and keeping mine at a distance. As for the poll, I wouldn't classify myself as "afraid" but I do choose not to put a device that emits radiation next to my head for extended periods of time, just based on common sense.
Susan Carroll
9:33 am on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Dave Peterson gives the best answer to debunk the "cell phones cause cancer" theory. On the other hand, I would like to see a psychological study of never getting a break from your workplace now that they can reach you at any hour of the night or day.