Cell Phones and Cancer

Are cell phones dangerous?
The scientific consensus has long been that they are not—though recently, some troubling research has led to new doubts. As soon as mobile phones began hitting the market in the 1980s, concerns were raised that the electromagnetic radio waves they emit might cause brain tumors and other types of cancer. But as cell phones became ubiquitous, at least a dozen major studies found no such link. The Food and Drug Administration said recently that three large epidemiological studies since 2000 showed “no harmful effects” from cell phone use, and the World Health Organization holds a similar view. The theory that cell phones pose health risks, says Dr. Eugene Flamm, chairman of neurosurgery at New York’s Montefiore Medical Center, “defies credulity.”

What’s the basis of that contention?
Cell phones emit non-ionizing radiation, waves of energy that are too weak to break the chemical bonds within cells or to cause the DNA damage known to cause cancer. There is simply no known biological mechanism to explain how non-ionizing radiation might lead to cancer. But some researchers say that the lack of a known mechanism does not rule out the possibility that one exists and has yet to be understood. They also say that older studies on cell phone safety contained a major flaw. 

What’s the flaw?
As the FDA itself acknowledges, most of the studies examined cell phone use over a period of about three years—not long enough to rule out the possibility of long-term effects. “It takes at least 10, 20, or 30 years to see exposure to cancer,” says Israeli neuroscientist Dr. Siegal Sadetzki. She points out that it took decades before scientists could prove that people exposed to radiation at Hiroshima had a much higher incidence of brain tumors. Critics also say that the studies have largely ignored the impact of cell phones on teenagers and preteens, whose developing brains may be more vulnerable, especially since many of them tend to use cell phones for hours every day (see box).  ...