Mobile phones do cause cancer but only in heavy users
Those late night chats with your sweetheart may get you a date not only with her but also with an oncologist. After a zillion debates over whether mobile phones cause brain tumours or not, a comprehensive worldwide study shows it can.
Texting incessantly does cause repetitive strain injury, or Blackberry thumb. But that’s a mild fallout of excessive usage of mobile and smart phones.
The Interphone study, commissioned by the World Health Organisation, finds a more serious problem could be three types of brain cancers and even salivary gland tumour. The electromagnetic waves that connect people on the move also play havoc with your body when absorbed. They can cause mutation in human cells and lead to cancers.
The good news, however, is that it’s prolonged heavy usage, or that of more than 10 years, which could kill.
The £20-million study involved review of studies across 13 countries. More than 12,800 healthy people and brain cancer patients were made to fill out questionnaires on their mobile phone usage.
Six of eight studies on the link between mobiles and glioma, the commonest form of brain cancer, found heavy cell phone users faced higher risk of the malignancy, sometimes even as high as 39 per cent, compared with low users.
Seven studies on risk of acoustic neurinoma, a tumour of the nerve between the ear and the brain, found 10 years or more of being attached to mobile meant higher chances of getting the disease.
A study conducted in Israel warned the risk of parotid salivary gland cancer could be 50 per cent higher in heavy users.
Further, sperm count of men who kept their phones in their pant pockets could be lower by 30 per cent.
The risk varied from one study to another but overall, there did seem to be a link between mobiles and cancers. Dr Elisabeth Cardis, lead author of the study, said, “In the absence of definitive results and in the light of a number of studies which, though limited, suggest a possible effect of radiofrequency radiation, precautions are important.”
Hands-free kits and less time spent chatting on cell phones may minimise the risk somewhat, she said.
Moderation in cell phone usage just may leave you with many more years of talk time.
Please help spread the word by sharing this article with your friends.
