Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer?

The US government says no. And, she said with dripping sarcasm, they have such a great track record with getting this sort of information right. Two words: Celebrex and Thalidomide.

The Senate held a hearing last week on whether or not cell phones cause brain cancer. I watched part of it. My two favourite parts were when the "scientists" turned out to be paid by the cellphone industry, and when it turned out that the standard applied by the Feds to whether the radiation is dangerous is predicated on the usage of a 200 pound man, with an 11 pound head, using his phone 6 minutes a day. Total. The standards were developed close to 20 years ago when that was probably the average user as cell phones were mostly for business, and it could cost $3/minute to talk on them. So usage was mostly male adults, using their phones only if absolutely necessary.

I watched this thinking about the preliminary European report I read in August. It had VERY different findings. It was one of those evidence-based medicine approaches I love so much: where they evaluate not only the data, but the legitimacy of the study which produced said data.

The report listed 15 causes for concern. I'm taking them seriously based on the report itself. I've listed them after the jump. The entire report, which is truly worth reading, is below.

The things that shook me the most were the effect on children, the fact that it's not just "cell" phones, but also the DECT phones, and the fact that the report said to check what is actually in the safety portion of the owners manual which comes with the phones. Sure enough, in my book it says to keep the phone away from your head. 

1. Industry’s own research showed cellphones caused brain tumors
2. Subsequent industry-funded research also showed that using a cellphone elevated the risk of brain tumors (2000-2002)
3. Interphone studies, published to date, consistently show use of a cellphone for ess than 10 years protects the user from a brain tumor
4. Independent research shows there is risk of brain tumors from cellphone use
5. Despite the systemic-protective-skewing of all results in the Interphone studies, significant risk for brain tumors from cellphone use was still found
6. Studies independent of industry funding show what would be expected if wireless phones cause brain tumors
7. The danger of brain tumors from cellphone use is highest in children, and the younger a child is when he/she starts using a cellphone, the higher the risk
8. There have been numerous governmental warnings about children’s use of cellphones
9. Exposure limits for cellphones are based only on the danger from heating
10. An overwhelming majority of the European Parliament has voted for a set of changes based on “health concerns associated with electromagnetic fields.”
11. Cellphone radiation damages DNA, an undisputed cause of cancer
    
12. Cellphone radiation has been shown to cause the blood-brain barrier to leak
13. Cellphone user manuals warn customers to keep the cellphone away from
    the body even when the cellphone is not in use
14. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warning for cordless phones
15. Male fertility is damaged by cellphone radiation