For decades now, cellphones have been the tie that binds us, connecting us to home, school and work and even getting us from one place to the next.
More than 223 million of us over the age of 13 use mobile phones, according to a 2010 Nielsen study. Every day, for 2.3 trillion minutes, we push the on-switch with little thought to the radio-frequency waves waffling about us, transmitting and receiving the sounds of our voices.
“The average adult cellphone user makes and receives around five voice calls a day,” said Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at the Pew Research Center. “That number is the same for teens.”
After nearly 14 years of waffling on the dangers of cellphones, health officials concluded Tuesday the devices can cause cancer, putting them in the same category as coffee, gasoline engine exhaust and the pesticide DDT.
Although some experts say the ruling by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, shouldn’t change people’s cellphone habit, Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, said the evidence is enough to warrant concern.
“This report comes from a very credible group, and reaches reasonable conclusions about electromagnetic radiation from cellphones and other devices,” said Brawley. “It is critical that its findings be interpreted with great care.”
While studies showing an association between exposure to non-thermal radio frequency energy and biological effects that may lead to adverse health outcomes are present in existing scientific literature, attempts to replicate and confirm these positive findings have failed, said Erica Jefferson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
She said that most studies investigating an association between radio-frequency exposure and adverse health outcomes have failed to show a positive association and that additional research is needed. That research is being conducted around the world to address knowledge gaps that have been identified from earlier studies.
"The existing weight of scientific evidence does not show an association between exposure to non-thermal radio frequency energy and adverse health outcomes," Jefferson said
She said the FDA will continue reviewing this issue.
Cellphone users concerned about possible health risks associated with radio frequency emitted by their phones can take these precautions:
• Reduce the amount of time you spend on cellphones by using it only for short conversations, or only when a conventional phone is not available.
• Purchase a phone with a low specific absorption rate (SAR). SAR is measured in watts per kilogram of RF. The maximum SAR allowed by the FCC is 1.6. In contrast, some "low-radiation" phones have SARs lower than 0.5. For information on the SAR level, check the FCC identification usually found under the battery pack, then log onto www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid.
• Use a hands-free device such as a corded or cordless earpiece, which can decrease the amount of RF waves that reach the head. Corded earpieces emit virtually n0 RF waves (although the phone itself still emits small amounts that can reach parts of the body if close enough). Bluetooth® earpieces have an SAR value of around 0.001 watts/kg (less than one thousandth the SAR limit for cell phones as set by the FDA and FCC).
