Mobile Phone Study Presents Global Public Health Threat

A newly published study by Dr. Vini Khurana, an Australian neurosurgeon, andfour other medical professionals provides evidence that cell phone use is “anemerging global public health concern.” The study is entitled “Cell Phones andBrain Tumors: A Review Including the Long-Term Epidemiologic Data” and wasrecently published in Surgical Neurology.www.brain-surgery.us/mobilephone.html It examines over 100 studies in order to answer the question: “Is thereepidemiologic evidence for an association between long-term cell phone usageand the risk of developing a brain tumor?”The authors state that long-term exposure to invisible electromagnetic radiationaffects the brain and body in harmful ways and these effects are compounded byother waves that we are exposed to on a daily basis, including those from radioand television towers and wireless devices.The electromagnetic radiation from cell phones can increase the risk for braintumors by as much as two to four times. The incubation time can be as long as10 to 20 years. The malignant and fatal effects are just now beginning to presentthemselves in an observable pattern.The authors state that the type of phone does not make a difference with regard toexposure and that the “exposure is highest on the side of the head against whichthe cell phone is held and appears to be even higher in children owing to thinner scalps and skulls, increased water content of their brain, and lower brain volume.”Some governments have taken steps to regulate the risk. The EuropeanParliament has set forth regulations based on another report exposing the risks of cell phone use.http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2009-0216+0+DOC+XML+V0//ENRegulationsinclude moving transmitting towers, antennas and other electromagnetic emittingdevices a specific distance away from schools, retirement homes and healthinstitutions, as well as changing the direction of transmitting antennas in relation toliving spaces. They are also requiring the labeling of the transmitting power of every wireless device. Other suggestions include an annual report on the level of electromagnetic radiation throughout the European Union and internet mapsshowing the exposure resulting from transmitting devices.There are several ways to reduce your risk, such as using a land line in lieu of acell phone, using the speakerphone, minimizing the time spent on calls andrestricting the use of cell phones by children to only emergency situations.Dr. Khurana stresses that the risks of prolonged or excessive cell phone useshould not be ignored. He said, “[A]t this point in time, there’s just over threebillion users of cell phones worldwide. So that’s half of or world population, or almost half. We’ve reached saturation points. For example, in Australia, there are