US Senate told cell phones cause cancer - but nothing changes

The US Senate has been told by leading scientists that mobile (cell) phones definitely cause cancer – but it’s unlikely they will do anything about it. Dr Siegal Sadetzki of Tel Aviv University was a principal witness before a Senate Committee hearing last September, and told the panel that cell phone usage increased the chances of parotid (salivary gland) cancer. Dr Sadetzki was lead author of a study published in 2008 that demonstrated that heavy usage of a cell phone increased the chances of parotid cancer by nearly 50 per cent. Overall, the risk increases by 34 per cent if you are regular user of a cell phone for five years or longer, by 58 per cent if you have made more than 5,500 calls in your lifetime, and by 49 per cent if you have spoken on a cell phone for more than 266 hours in your lifetime. She outlined her results to the Senate hearing, and said that her major concerns were for young people who use cell phones, as they are more vulnerable, and for heavy users. She recommends that people use hands-free devices at all times, and to hold the phone away from your body when talking. Talk less often, and for shorter periods, too, she advises. Despite her findings and recommendations, the Senate has so far failed to issue any recommendations, and especially for cell phone usage among children and teenagers. France is one of the few countries to take seriously the threat of cell phones to children’s health, and has banned their use in school playgrounds. The UK, like the US, has done nothing, despite being warned of the potential danger to the young. (Source: American Journal of Epidemiology, 2008; 167: 457-67).