Cell phones MORE dangerous than smoking!!!

[Flyingstar]

Has anyone else seen the article in the LA times from a well respected Brain doctor stating that cell phone use (with the handset held against your head) causes cancer/brain toumers (sp) in about ten years. (less for children)?? Of course cellphone companys deny any truth to this....

[Spikefood]

Just because he operates on brains does not mean he can know where cancers are coming from. I don't buy it. Maybe after a bunch of research. As for now, iPhone all the way.

[xcissexc]

if that true then we're all screwed unless you live ontop of a mountain. we are constantly surrounded by all sorts of radio wave for example phones, satelite tv and radio just to mention a few.

[Flyingstar]

Just because he operates on brains does not mean he can know where cancers are coming from. I don't buy it. Maybe after a bunch of research. As for now, iPhone all the way.

come on you are over symplifing this. He doesn't just operate on brains, he is a world renound brain Scientist! he has been studing the effects of cellphone radiation on the brain for years!

[Youngbinks]

I remember these reports years ago saying that anyone that had a cellphone in the 90s would be dead by the year 2000. I don't buy into it at all. Everything is dangerous for you these days, so why limit yourself to solitary confinement in a sterile room?

[Eragon]

Has anyone else seen the article in the LA times from a well respected Brain doctor stating that cell phone use (with the handset held against your head) causes cancer/brain toumers (sp) in about ten years. (less for children)?? Of course cellphone companys deny any truth to this....

I don't need to read this article to understand its message: radiation of any variety and in any quantity has an unpredictable impact on the human body. Lower doses over longer exposure periods have less impact than larger doses given over shorter periods are more troubling.

Cell phone radiation could reduce life expectancy. Bottom line. But, as a nuclear engineer, trained to understand and prevent unsafe exposures to radiation, I won't keep that risk from letting me enjoy life to the fullest. I live with a greater risk of death by violent dismemberment from my fellow DC drivers who think the Capital Beltway is the Daytona 500.

[patrickj]

But, as a nuclear engineer, trained to understand and prevent unsafe exposures to radiation, I won't keep that risk from letting me enjoy life to the fullest. I live with a greater risk of death by violent dismemberment from my fellow DC drivers who think the Capital Beltway is the Daytona 500.

Nicely put. Visited DC / Reston, Va. few years back - that traffic is BRUTAL.

[Indy]

Well, damn, and I thought all the bluetooth users were doomed.

I could so see this turning into one of those plague the human race is dead movies. Maybe something like a zombie movie but everyone but a small group of people have glowing heads of radiation and if they bite you....:tounge:

[theevilone]

Just another nut.

[Flyingstar]

well if all it takes is using a headset then it's no big sacrafice. (Why didin't I learn to spell in school?) (smile)

[geordisjd]

Just another nut.

The main danger is for those idiots driving, talking and text messaging all at the same time.

[Lincoln]

My mother had surgery last winter to have a tumor on her brainstem removed. The surgery paralyzed the right side of her face and made her deaf in the right ear. She had never owned a cell phone before that; and for the reason mentioned above. Only my dad carried one, and he has absolutely no problems.

- John

[Spikefood]

My mother had surgery last winter to have a tumor on her brainstem removed. The surgery paralyzed the right side of her face and made her deaf in the right ear. She had never owned a cell phone before that; and for the reason mentioned above. Only my dad carried one, and he has absolutely no problems.

- John

Obviously a sample size but a good example of why you should live your life to the fullest.

[Youngbinks]

The main danger is for those idiots driving, talking and text messaging all at the same time.

Precisely! Even though I find myself texting while driving (only ever while stopped at a light mind you) most of the drivers on the road these days can't handle driving in itself, so when you add using a handheld device to the mix, you're just asking for disaster.

[DUKEL]

Its probably true. The fcc is so corrupt it's like a lapdog to the wireless industry. I have heard this before when one of my neighbors died of Brain Cancer, the doctor said it was due to frequent cell phone use. The man used the phone as his main business line and was on it for several hrs. a day. I beleive it, as much as I'd like not to. That's why most mobile phones come wuth a pamphlet basically warning you to use at your own risk.

[geordisjd]

Here are the results of a meta-analysis (http://www.springerlink.com/content/l0kr246374422341/) on the subject. It's huge and recent. No statistical link between all kinds of brain tumors and cell use.

I'll worry about things worth worrying about. There are plenty of those:frown:.

[Youngbinks]

Here are the results of a meta-analysis (http://www.springerlink.com/content/l0kr246374422341/) on the subject. It's huge and recent. No statistical link between all kinds of brain tumors and cell use.

I'll worry about things worth worrying about. There are plenty of those:frown:.

Like not being able to find my copy of Galaxy Quest. I've looked EVERYWHERE and I can't find it. I'm pretty depressed about it actually.

[geordisjd]

Like not being able to find my copy of Galaxy Quest. I've looked EVERYWHERE and I can't find it. I'm pretty depressed about it actually.

That's very depressing. I can never find anything myself, so I keep all my favorite movies (many,many of them) on my computer, and I burn a DVD whenever I want to watch one on another device. (Yes, I DO HAVE Galaxy Quest:smile:).

[Youngbinks]

That's very depressing. I can never find anything myself, so I keep all my favorite movies (many,many of them) on my computer, and I burn a DVD whenever I want to watch one on another device. (Yes, I DO HAVE Galaxy Quest:smile:).

I've been in the process of backing up all of my DVDs to my computer, but sadly I haven't made it to the G's in the alphabet yet. I'm considering running to Wal*Mart to see if they have it in stock. The only way I can study is if I have a movie playing in the background. I designate them study movies, I know, weird.

To bring the discussion back to the topic a bit, I would think that Bluetooth headsets would be channeling the energy directly into your ear cavity more than simply talking on the phone. Either way, why stop doing something you enjoy if there is no real statistical evidence to say it is dangerous. That being said I do not condone the use of Bluetooth headsets as an alternative to talking regularly on the phone.

[DUKEL]

Here are the results of a meta-analysis (http://www.springerlink.com/content/l0kr246374422341/) on the subject. It's huge and recent. No statistical link between all kinds of brain tumors and cell use.

I'll worry about things worth worrying about. There are plenty of those:frown:.

I hope your right. I can't say I don't have more pressing matters.

[DUKEL]

To bring the discussion back to the topic a bit, I would think that Bluetooth headsets would be channeling the energy directly into your ear cavity more than simply talking on the phone. Either way, why stop doing something you enjoy if there is no real statistical evidence to say it is dangerous. That being said I do not condone the use of Bluetooth headsets as an alternative to talking regularly on the phone.

I used to think the same thing but the bluetooth is a whole different technology and I would say is 100% safe. That said, I haven't really accepted the bt headset it seems kinda unecessary with the phones having speakerphones. The iPhone kinda needs one I guess because of the low speakerphone volume. I'm sure I could find plenty of stats that would say otherwise. There's a reason cell phones come with such a large amount of paperwork on the subject and they even warn you that the safe way to be worn is on a clip like .5 inches away from your body to meet the radiation standards.


World Health Organization

"You may want to limit your own or your children's RF exposure by limiting the legnth of calls or by using handsfree devices to keep mobile phones away from your head & body"

[DUKEL]

Safety Guidelines as of May 2007

Product Operation

"If you wear the mobile device on your body, always place the device in a holdster, clip, case or body harness. If you do not use a body worn accessory and carry the device from a lanyard or in a pocket keep the mobile device and it's antenna at least 2.5 cm(1 inch) from your body when transmitting"



If there was no danger in RF energy there would not be such strict safety guidelines. It is similar to microwave technology which is also widely beleived to have no link with cancer, do I beleive that?

[Eragon]

The truth is nobody has been able to correlate a minimum threshold limit for radiation exposure. The evidence suggests that for a given dose of radiation, everyone who responded to this thread could have different effects. To further muddy the water, those different effects could manifest at different times, often times on the order of years. A news broadcast last night indicated a genetic pre-disposition towards some types of cancers. Again, the bottom line is simply that the long-term effects of cell phone radiation on the body is uncertain and is highly dependent upon the individual. If you feel compelled after reading my post, you can send me your iPhones. Otherwise, enjoy your toys like I do.

The FCC label, though very conservative, is a warning label intended to address as many potential pathways to radiation exposure. Similar to the smoking warning we see on tobacco products. How radiation will affect you is a vulnerability, without a question. But, that is the price we pay for new technology. Will you throw away a perfectly good watch only because it has a tritiated dial? How about those smoke detectors which contain Amerecium?

Acceptance of radiation is a personal preference. Nobody should be forced by someone else to accept a risk unilaterally. Am I concerned about the effects of cell phone radiation on me? No. Was I concerned when my wife was pregnant? Yes. Am I concerned about my children? Yes. The body can take very large radiation doses to the extremities (fingers), less amounts to specific organs (chest X-rays), and even smaller amounts to the entire body. That is the basis for radiation treatment of cancer: large dose, delivered to a small area. I'm the reverse of Dr. McCoy (I'm an engineer, not a Doctor). Radiation effects are much more important development requiring fast dividing cells. Common sense tells us to minimize risk factors during embryonic development and childhood.

For a comparison in risk, our friends who live in the Rocky Mountains or are Airline staff take significantly more whole body radiation than the rest of us and on a routine basis. We won't go into the fact that couples receive sizable radiation doses from being in close proximity to each other, but that is true as well. Think about that the next time you give your significant other a hug!

[cosmo420]

Nicely put. Visited DC / Reston, Va. few years back - that traffic is BRUTAL.
try I95 from West palm- miami on any given day

[Marcos]

Has anyone else seen the article in the LA times from a well respected Brain doctor stating that cell phone use (with the handset held against your head) causes cancer/brain toumers (sp) in about ten years. (less for children)?? Of course cellphone companys deny any truth to this....

In the words of Penn & Teller.. Cellphones being more dangerous then cell phones is simply "BULL SH*T!"

[EvilButtHair]

Radio waves are no different than the light waves come out of a light bulb, save the fact that radio waves are far less energetic (by virtue of it's longer wave length). You cell phone emits milliwatts of radio waves, ie, thousands of times, per watts, less energy than an average light bulb. Adding to that is the fact that the individual photons/light waves emitted by your phone are significantly less powerful than what's coming out of a light bulb.

Spending a fraction of a second outside does more damage to your brain (which is absolutely none) than talking on a cell phone for an hour does. It is absolutely impossible for the radio waves that are emited by your cell phone to do any damage to your brain. The claim that cell phones cause/increase your risk of brain cancer is complete bull****.

[x999x]

I used to be a salesperson for AirTouch Cellular while in College, and we were instructed to avoid any questions related to health issues that can or may arise from cellphone usage. I was told to say that theres no conclusive evidence to support these theories, and that "anything" gives you cancer these days if you really look hard enough.

Towards the end of my tenure, I crossed paths with a physician who told me that while he relies on his cellphone, he'll only use it with a earpiece and mic adapter. We didn't have bluetooth back then, these were wired "hands free" kits.

What he explained to me, which I have to say is rather convincing, is that by design, cellphones are supposed to have a retractable antenna that rises above your head. In this way, the antenna can send signals away from your brain rather than through it. He told me that the soft tissue in the brain can and does absorb small amounts of magnetic radiation as the radio waves pass through your skull. Therefore to avoid this, you need to either talk from a headset, or extend the antenna passed the top of your head.

Unfortunately, todays phones don't have retractable antenna, so we're absorbing this magnetic radiation in very small doses which have been deemed "safe" by industry standards.

Cnet has a page which lists the radiation output of all the current handsets. The iphone is a little high on the list, but nowhere near the motorola handsets which I would qualify as torture devices. The Rokr had the highest rated radiation levels the last I checked.

I use my iphone for texting and browsing more than I do talking. When I do talk, I prefer to use the speaker phone, and when thats not possible I will keep the phone's mic pointing forward so that it almost extends as far as my nose. I figure I'm absorbing less radio waves this way, if indeed I am.

My opinion on the matter is, "Better Safe than Sorry." I don't see any harm in taking precaution when using a radio device. I've heard stories of people frying themselves alive by walking in the path of antenna that transmit high power radio waves, like on battleships and such.

For what its worth, the UK government has advised against allowing minors to use Cellphones as their brains are still growing. Food for thought imho.

[LAPTOP GAMER]

OK so where are all of these cases of brain cancer, as just about everyone has a cell phone these days. They always dig this story up, clean it off and recycle it again every year.

[x999x]

OK so where are all of these cases of brain cancer, as just about everyone has a cell phone these days. They always dig this story up, clean it off and recycle it again every year.

They're locked in the same vault as the reports that say Global warming is real.

Simply put, only time will tell.

[LAPTOP GAMER]

They're locked in the same vault as the reports that say Global warming is real.

Simply put, only time will tell.

I just love how the media loves to scare the crap out of you. Every day they tell you hundreds of things that can kill you.

[EvilButtHair]

I used to be a salesperson for AirTouch Cellular while in College, and we were instructed to avoid any questions related to health issues that can or may arise from cellphone usage. I was told to say that theres no conclusive evidence to support these theories, and that "anything" gives you cancer these days if you really look hard enough.

Towards the end of my tenure, I crossed paths with a physician who told me that while he relies on his cellphone, he'll only use it with a earpiece and mic adapter. We didn't have bluetooth back then, these were wired "hands free" kits.

What he explained to me, which I have to say is rather convincing, is that by design, cellphones are supposed to have a retractable antenna that rises above your head. In this way, the antenna can send signals away from your brain rather than through it. He told me that the soft tissue in the brain can and does absorb small amounts of magnetic radiation as the radio waves pass through your skull. Therefore to avoid this, you need to either talk from a headset, or extend the antenna passed the top of your head.

Unfortunately, todays phones don't have retractable antenna, so we're absorbing this magnetic radiation in very small doses which have been deemed "safe" by industry standards.

Cnet has a page which lists the radiation output of all the current handsets. The iphone is a little high on the list, but nowhere near the motorola handsets which I would qualify as torture devices. The Rokr had the highest rated radiation levels the last I checked.

I use my iphone for texting and browsing more than I do talking. When I do talk, I prefer to use the speaker phone, and when thats not possible I will keep the phone's mic pointing forward so that it almost extends as far as my nose. I figure I'm absorbing less radio waves this way, if indeed I am.

My opinion on the matter is, "Better Safe than Sorry." I don't see any harm in taking precaution when using a radio device. I've heard stories of people frying themselves alive by walking in the path of antenna that transmit high power radio waves, like on battleships and such.

For what its worth, the UK government has advised against allowing minors to use Cellphones as their brains are still growing. Food for thought imho.

It's not food for thought - it's nonsense. Understanding what EM radiation is via Quantum Theory yields the conclusion that the scare is nothing to be concerned about. Light is EM radiation - relatively low energy EM radiation. Let's examine the math surrounding the individual photon emited by a cell phone:

*All final answers are given in joules*

E (energy in joules) is equal to h-bar (Planck's constant) times f (the frequency of the photon, pronounced, 'new'). A photon coming out of an average light bulb has an energy equal to about 10^15 times 6.626*10^-34, which equals 6.626*10^-19.

Let's compare that to the photon coming out of your cell phone: the highest frequency the iphone outputs is 1900 Megahertz - you can confirm that on your own, if you wish - so our calculation gives, 1.9*10^9 times 6.626*10^-34 gives the result 1.26*10^-24 . That means that an individual photon coming out of your iphone is 10,000 times less energetic than the light that comes out of a light bulb, and at least 10,000 times less harmful.

Let's now compare the power output of a 60 watt light bulb, versus an iphone/cell phone in general. A watt is a joule per second. Every second a light bulb is on, it puts out 60 joules of energy in every direction every second, while a cell phone puts out about one-hundreth of a joule per second. That means that your cell phone is about 60 million times LESS deadly than a 60 watt light bulb.

Put your trust in physics - it is goooood.

[x999x]

Physics can prove how an elephant can hang precariously from a flower off the edge of a cliff if you try hard enough.

Lol. I don't trust much these days, especially in this internet-age.

[psylichon]

Life is a carcinogen.

[Indy]

.


Interesting name there pal.:tounge:

[Eragon]

This topic made the NBC evening news last night. There appears to be overwhelming consensus among the medical community that further research is desired. The broadcast mentioned the possibility of irradiating test subjects (e.g., mice) that can be bred quickly and then examined for any potential biological change.

Seems kind of odd how the scientists can irradiate using cellular radiation to effect measurable biological changes. Most, I regret to acknowledge, of our knowledge of radiation effects (that is, enormous doses delivered over a very short time frame) has come from the in-depth study of atomic-bomb survivors. Short of sticking the mice in a microwave oven, I haven't the foggiest idea how the short and long-term effects of cellular radiation will be accomplished.

We see such testing with new prescriptions and food additives. We've all seen the cancer-risk potential in bags containing saccharin. While we acknowledge the potential risk to ourselves, we really don't realize the mega-doses (not realistic from a human consumption standpoint) needed to effect a visible change. How do we simulate the environment associated with cell phones to prove or disprove the point?

Buy a 1000 iPhones, throw them in the lab cages, and make them ring all at once?

[arnold ziffle]

having recently gone through 35 days of intense radiation to where I can no longer grow hair on my neck , have a permanent tan and taste buds that came back after 6 months I'm not too worried about what this little machine will do.

[geordisjd]

Sorry to hear that. I hope your treatment was successful:smile:.

[arnold ziffle]

thank you. the radiation and chemo were successful. I'm so lucky.

[psylichon]

thank you. the radiation and chemo were successful. I'm so lucky.

awesome... congrats! :laugh2: