Extensive Cell Phone Use vs. The Big C!

[Schuarta]

Back on TOB (in the good old days) I raised the topic of extensive cell phone use possibly causing brain cancer. I was totally "poo poo'ed" at the time. Well, the evening news this week is bringing it up. Some articles I found:


* According to a Swedish study, if you spend many years using your cell phone for at least an hour a day your risk of developing a brain tumor is 240% higher than a person who never uses one. The results of this study go against another recent one carried out in the UK and published in January, 2006, which indicated that cell phone use is safe for humans.

The researchers found that even the location of the tumor, for extensive cell phone users over many years, tends to be on the side of the head where the phone is used. You can read about this study in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health.


* Pitt's Cancer Institute warns of cell phone risk

By JENNIFER C. YATES and SETH BORENSTEIN – 2 hours ago

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don't find a link between increased tumors and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.


* Cell phones linked to possible brain cancer was a 15-month study which suggest is more dangerous than smoking
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Cell phones linked to possible brain cancer was a 15-month study which suggest is more dangerous than smoking.The study was conducted by Dr. Vini Khurana who suggests that exposure to cell phones may be more dangerous than cigarettes or asbestos.


More available. Give a look.

[Alex]

I don't doubt there could be an issue with having what is basically a radio next to ones head for extended periods of time.

I wonder if someone will propose banning them now. I read somewhere today that a ban on bottled water is being considered.

[café au lait]

schuarta, here's the link to the entire article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080723/ap_on_he_me/cell_phone_warning

[Dark and Stormy]

If there is something to this, then the mechanism is something normally not considered when worrying about RF radiation. If you do the math on the energy (i.e. tranciever watts) you get maybe a hundredth of degree temp rise in the nearby body part. That would be lost when compared to the heat most phones' processors shed when running.
I doubt that sort of IR heating is leading to tumors or you'd the like in other professions that do hot work. And given one's bloods circulates, it is doubtful that one region would get that much hotter than the rest of the body. But then I don't know how fast circulation is through the brain. Maybe localized heating in the brain. Still seems unlikely. Now if there were some other kind of radiation other than RF, you get into the tumor making stuff. But I don't see how you get that from a cell phone.

I wonder if the issue is that people who don't use cell phones are less likely to be diagnosed with brain tumors due to economic factors. Not all brain tumors kill and non cellphone users might be less likely to have the money to get checked out and have their tumors found.

[Oyster]

i wonder if someone will propose banning them now.





i w i l l !!!

[Schuarta]

I use my ear piece, with the phone on seat or desk next to me. :eek:

[Jeeves]

OMG! Thanks, Art! Another reason to lose sleep! You just made me think of all the times I was shooting radar on I-10 in Irish Bayou and US 90 in Lake St. Catherine and put the radar gun between my legs to hold it while I chased speeders! http://images116.fotki.com/v721/photos/7/77640/753362/43-vi.gif

[Schuarta]

OMG! Thanks, Art! Another reason to lose sleep! You just made me think of all the times I was shooting radar on I-10 in Irish Bayou and US 90 in Lake St. Catherine and put the radar gun between my legs to hold it while I chased speeders! http://images116.fotki.com/v721/photos/7/77640/753362/43-vi.gif

Well, maybe some good news. Isn't your radar "gun" off until you point, aim, and pull the triger? :rolleyes:

Well, maybe some bad news. A radar gun is a hullava lot more powerful than a cell phone when it is operating. :(

Well, maybe some slightly good news for cell users in general. The power output of "new" digital cell phones is far less than the power output of the "old" analog units.

[Dilfan]

I guess that's another reason to not carry the phone in your pocket, guys!!!!

[Oyster]

OMG! Thanks, Art! Another reason to lose sleep! You just made me think of all the times I was shooting radar on I-10 in Irish Bayou and US 90 in Lake St. Catherine and put the radar gun between my legs to hold it while I chased speeders! http://images116.fotki.com/v721/photos/7/77640/753362/43-vi.gif

Wait a minute...

You could have shot radar in the city limits! No need to run to Irish Bayou or Lake Catherine unless... the trunk/saddle bags were loaded with berled crabs!

I know your card states:

Have crab knife...will travel

[LauraMc]

There should be a whole lotta people with tumors then. My take on this is that it's like the red dye, saccharin, powder warnings or yesteryear.
I had to laugh at work the other day. One of my office mates was heating up yet another frozen meal (those things stink to high heaven), then I stuck my left overs that were in a clear plastic container into the microwave to re-heat for a few minutes. She warned me that I could get cancer from the plastic. I just laughed and told her I'd be more worried about the containers from her frozen diet meals. If I survived saccharin since childhood, I think plastic isn't going to get me either. :covri:

[Shep]

I really do not believe there could be anything to this cell phone /brain cancer thing. If there was a link, 80 % of the African-American females in the city would be dead of brain cancer by now. This is not a scientific survey but seems obviously bogus.

[cstoehr]

I really do not believe there could be anything to this cell phone /brain cancer thing. If there was a link, 80 % of the African-American females in the city would be dead of brain cancer by now. This is not a scientific survey but seems obviously bogus.

Or the nimrods that never remove the ear buds! LOL

[Jerry]

I'd say extensive cell phone use can definately be harmful.
Sometimes I feel like pulling the damn things out of people's hands and batting them in the head with it.

Believe it or not, we've had women who cannot take the phone away from their ear even while they're being rinsed or washed in a shampoo bowl.:covri:

Some enter our boutique talking on the phone and can spend a half hour or more browsing and them leave without ever finishing the call.
They will not be offered help or greeting until they hang up.

[Dilfan]

They will not be offered help or greeting until they hang up.

I hope you have a sign indicating that. Most of the abusers are too self centered to consider that their actions may be the reason why they are not being "served", and would just consider your business to be rude. I applaud businesses who take the stand that they will not serve customers who are on the phone. I was once in line at a sandwich shop when the person in front of me was yaking away and when they got to the counter, they were indignant when the server skipped them and asked me what I wanted. They stated that they were there first and should be served and the person pointed to the sign on the wall and told them that they could hang up right then and be served next, or move to the back of the line. They left in a huff complaining!

[Jerry]

and them leave without
Of course I meant to type then and not them. This no editing except for the first 30 minutes is for what reason?....I think I read it but it didn't make much sense at the time.

[NoNoNanette]

This no editing except for the first 30 minutes is for what reason?....I think I read it but it didn't make much sense at the time.

I have to think that it's because of posters like PS. He'd type nonsense, wait for replies, then delete his post when he was shown as the arse that he can be. If I'm not mistaken, when I called him on it, he told me that "I had seen his post, and that's all that mattered". :rolleyes:

IMO, I'd do a 10 minute editing timeline, but that's just me. :)

[Admin]

It's currently 60 minutes to edit a post, 5 minutes to edit without an "Edited by" timestamp. Some forums we've seen have it set to as short as 5 and 2. A thread starter is given 5 minutes to edit a thread title. As noted, these measures are to allow corrections like spelling errors, or short-term re-thinks, but not allow behaviors like the aforementioned example. We will entertain requests to make legitimate corrections to users' own posts for them, outside the set timeframes.