Using your cell phone too much could cause brain cancer, the latest report says. No, it won't, says another. Even before the Internet, debates have raged for decades over whether or not a certain product is safe or not.
Remember arguments about saccharine? About aspartame? The most recent life-changing argument was about smoking, then about secondhand smoke. Those debates were won by those who felt smoking was dangerous and by scientists who proved it was.
Now the World Health Organization, an affiliate of the United Nations, has issued a report saying that cell phones are "possibly carcinogenic." That sounds serious, but critics are quick to note that the Category 2B list of "possibly carcinogenic " items includes coffee and pickled vegetables on one hand, and DDT, engine exhaust, lead, and other industrial chemicals on the other, according to The New York Times.
The report comes from the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, which constituted a panel of 31 scientists from 14 countries, says The Times. The panel was led by a University of Southern California professor who is also a member of President Obama's National Cancer Advisory Board. Their study came on the heels of an Interphone report that found no increased risk but did say that those who used their phone most had a 40% higher risk of glioma, a rare form of brain tumor.
It's also reassuring to note, says The Times, that the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute have given an OK to cell phone use.
How to Reduce Health Risks of Cell-Phone Use
When the WHO report says that cell phone use puts you at the same cancer risk as eating pickled veggies, it sounds fairly absurd at first glance. However, research indicates that people in Japan -- many of whom eat pickled vegetables with every meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) -- have the world's highest rate of stomach cancer. (I hedge my bets by eating pickled veggies only once a day, with lunch.)
I use a cell phone rather sparingly and still have my landlines at home and the office. So I don't worry much about brain cancer. But for those of you who use the cell phone constantly, there are two things The Times said its experts suggested to minimize the possibility of frying your brain:
- use a hands-free headset instead of holding your phone up to your ear
- text instead of talking and listening. Let your thumbs do the walking, in other words, not your mouth doing the talking.
You could also, I would add, just use your phone less than you do now. People managed to survive without knowing about your every waking moment and movement before the cell phone came along -- they can continue to do so with fewer up-to-the-minute reports as well.
Tips for Using Cell Phones On the Road
Of course, you don't text while driving, nor do you use the cell phone while driving (unless you use a headset). And of course, you pull over to the side of the road when using your cell phone or other electronic devices. Don't you?
Robert Haru Fisher is pro bono vice president of the not-for-profit charity, the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (www.iamat.org).