We are sure almost everyone heard something about the recent research reports about cell phones and cancer. But is there any truth to this claim? Billions of people use cell phones (about 7 billion people in the world, and over 5 billion cell phones). Thus, we are critically interested in this recent study.
Cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, or radio waves, a form of non-ionizing radiation, and concern about the cancer causing risk of this energy is what is feared. Cell phones are held above the neck, so cancers of the head, brain or neck would be expected to go up exponentially over time if the risk is real.
One large international study in 2010, the Interphone study, found no link between cell phone use and cancer. Most recently, the World Health Organization looked at multiple studies over multiple countries. The idea was to find out whether people who held the cell phone up around their faces, ears and brains, developed cancer. They concluded that cell phones may cause cancer, some risk could exist, and they recommended classifying cell phones in the same carcinogen category as coffee.
Because the research is still ongoing and none of it appears to be overwhelming at this point, we don’t suggest you take any drastic measures at this point. It might be a good idea to do something like invest in a Bluetooth or keep your phone on speaker, but other than that, we do not recommend drastic changes. After all, clearly there will be downsides to having Bluetooth devices in everyone’s ears?
