If you’re like the vast majority of people these days, your cell phone is not just your friend − it’s more like an appendage. A recent survey by phone maker Motorola revealed that people were so attached to their cell phones that in case of a fire, a majority of cell phone owners would abandon their cats rather than abandon their smartphones!
But then your smartphone has so much to offer. Besides using it for calling and texting, you can surf the Internet, use it as a personal organizer, game console, and take pictures and video with ever-increasing quality.
So is your cell phone really a friend, or is it actually your foe? And most importantly… can cell phones cause cancer?
Do Cellphones Cause Cancer?
Cell Phones and Cancer: What are the Risks?
Cell phones emit a form of electromagnetic field called radio frequency (RF) radiation. We have long been led to believe that this radiation is harmless because of the low power levels involved, and because it’s non-ionizing.
Unfortunately, this cell phone radiation has the ability to penetrate our bodies and cause untold damage.
Perhaps the biggest red flag is the World Heath Organization (WHO) classification. In 2011, the WHO finally took a position on the issue and classified cell phone radiation as a possible 2B carcinogen. True, the WHO did only classify cell phone radiation as a possible carcinogen, not a probable carcinogen.
But a growing number of experts believe this classification does not sufficiently protect the public. Then there are the thousands of peer-reviewed studies which support the claim that cellphones cause cancer.
Do Cellphones Cause Brain Cancer? Using Your Cell Phone a Half Hour Per Day Increases Your Risk of Brain Tumor By 40%
Thousands of studies link cell phone radiation to a long list of serious illnesses. But can cell phones cause brain cancer? Cell phone radiation exposure has been principally linked to two types of brain tumors− gliomas and acoustic neuromas.
Gliomas – a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine are typically malignant and they are particularly deadly. Most people survive only 1 to 3 years after diagnosis of this kind of tumor.
Acoustic neuromas – though non-malignant (low-grade cancer), are in many cases life threatening given that they are an intracranial (within the skull) tumor.
The Interphone Study is the granddaddy of all the study findings into cell phone radiation and the safety of cellphones for humans. At a cost of $25 million, this is the largest study of cell phone use and tumor risk conducted to date. It found that “regular use of a cell phone by adults can significantly increase the risk of gliomas by 40% with 1640 hours or more of use.” This equates to about 30 minutes per day over ten years.