About Those Mobile Phone Cancer Fears...

Let's be honest: we have been in denial about this since the rumors first

surfaced several years ago. We sought reassurance that the risk was neglible - despite the increase in brain cancer incidence. And we assumed, not irrationally, that given the money at stake the phone companies and handset makers would 'fix' the problem so we would keep having millions of inane conversations about whether we had arrived safely at the mall and their revenue increases would continue unabated.

But now that the big red flag has been raised, what to do? Should we be worried? Damn right we should. Only an ostrich would pretend this is not a serious warning. The cancer with which heavy (emphasis on heavy) cell phone usage is linked is extremely deadly.

There is some good news: usage has shifted from calling to medically safer texting (parents, hang your heads in shame and admit to your teens that they were right and you were oblivious just like they have always said you were); all those headphone users who you sometimes thought, in passing them on the street, were mental institution escapees having private conversations with God, were also ahead of the game.

What to do: rethink scheduling hour long conference calls on your mobile unless you have a headphone. Take a deep breath before you cancel the landline so you can live the glamorous mobile-only life. And follow the research. In the meantime, it is worth noting that the greatest current cause of mobile related death is texting while driving. And have a nice day. JL

Clive Cookson and Andrew Parker report for the Financial Times:

"The World Health Organisation has for the first time classified radiation from mobile telephones as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. The landmark announcement on Tuesday night followed a week-long meeting of 31 scientists convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the WHO’s cancer arm. The experts reviewed details from dozens of published studies, going further than the agency’s own Interphone study which concluded last year that there was no clear link between phones and cancer.

The scientists said their classification was based partly on an association between mobile phones and glioma, a particularly dangerous type of brain cancer. One study showed a 40 per cent higher risk of glioma among the heavier users, though the IARC panel did not itself quantify the overall risk.
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Jonathan Samet of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, who chaired the working group, said: “The evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion and the classification [of a possible carcinogen]. 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.”

The GSMA, which represents the world’s leading mobile phone operators, said the IARC’s cancer hazard assessment for radiofrequency signals, including those from mobile communications, suggested “a hazard is possible but not likely”.

“We recognise that some mobile phone users may be concerned,” said Jack Rowley, GSMA director of research and sustainability.

“Importantly, present safety standards remain valid and the result should be understood as indicating the need for further research,” he said.

The GSMA said more than 30 scientific reviews over the past decade had concluded safety standards for mobile phones and base stations provided protection against all established health hazards. John Cooke, executive director of the UK Mobile Operators Association, added: “It is important to note that IARC has not established a direct link between mobile phone use and cancer. It has, however, concluded that there is the possibility of a hazard. Whether or not this represents a risk requires further scientific investigation.”

The IARC working group said the increased risk of cancer “has relevance for public health, as the number of [mobile phone] users is large and growing, particularly among young adults and children”.

Besides the link with glioma, studies also showed a possible association between heavy mobile phone use and acoustic neuroma, a less dangerous tumour. In 2008 there were 238,000 new cases of brain cancer worldwide, according to IARC. The number of mobile phone subscriptions is estimated at 5bn.

The scientists declined to make any policy recommendations on the basis of their new classification, beyond the need for further research. Actions and specific advice to phone users would be up to the WHO and national governments, they said.