CELL PHONES

CELL PHONES & HEALTH
WASHINGTON, May 22, 1999 -- Tests funded by the cellular telephone industry have found a possible link between cell phone usage and cancer. The studies found both biological indications of cell changes and a statistical link correlating cell phone usage with certain types of brain cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration said the results indicate a strong need for more study but not for immediate action to curb cell phone usage.
Readers report cell-phone-related health problems The tests were conducted at Stanford University and Integrated Laboratory Systems in Research Triangle Park, NC, and found chromosal changes in blood cells subjected to the same type of electromagnetic radiation emitted by hand-held cell phones.
Additionally, an epidemiological study showed nearly a tripling in the incidence of certain cancers -- neurocytomas, which grow inward from the periphery of the brain -- compared with people who do not use cell phones. Another study found that right-handed people who used cell phones and had brain tumors tended to have them on the right side of the brain.
More Mobile Phone Users Report Symptoms

Norwegian and Swedish users of mobile phones commonly report headaches, warmth on the ear and burning sensations of the facial skin, according to a just-published report.
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Researchers sent questionnaires to 17,000 people in Sweden and Norway who use mobile phones as part of their job.
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Nearly one of every four experienced at least one symptom associated with mobile phone use
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Warmth sensations were mostly experienced during mobile phone calls. Other symptoms, such as headaches, most often began within half an hour after the call and usually lasted for up to 2 hours
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Most of the respondents had not seen a physician, but about 45% had taken steps to relieve their symptoms, such as reducing the duration of calls and using "hands free equipment."
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Most people experienced a reduction of their symptoms as a result of the reported steps.
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Symptoms were more likely to happen with calls lasting longer than 5 minutes
Cell Phone Radiation Suit Dismissed
March 8, 2003
CELL PHONES & HEALTH
A federal judge has thrown out five class action lawsuits that claimed cell phone manufacturers were negligent in not providing headsets to protect users from the radio-frequency radiation emitted by cell phones.
In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake dismissed the suits on the grounds that federal standards regulating cell phones pre-empt the state laws under which the suits were filed. Her ruling did not address the question of whether cell phone emissions represent a health hazard.
The judge said that the Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have the authority to regulate cell phones and their decisions are not subject to state review.
The suits, filed in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia and Louisiana, claimed that Nokia and Motorola had failed to advise users of their cell phones that headsets could reduce the risk of brain tumors.
Last September, Judge Blake dismissed an $800 million lawsuit filed by a Baltimore neurologist who claimed his cell phone gave him brain cancer. That suit had been filed by Peter Angelos, a prominent Baltimore attorney who was also involved in the five suits dismissed this week.
Several studies have found no adverse health effects from cell phones and most scientists say the frequencies used by cell phones are not dangerous, even when used in close proximity to the brain. However, both the FDA and FCC say they support additional research.

Cell Phone Companies Patent Cancer Shields

By Nic Fleming and Ian Cobain
The world's largest mobile telephone manufacturers have been patenting devices to reduce the risk of brain tumors among users while rejecting claims of any health hazards.
Engineers for the "Big Three" - Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola - have all invented new components to shield users from radiation emissions from the handsets.
One application that Nokia has lodged with the United States Patent Office in Washington, and which has been seen by The Times, notes that "it has been suggested that" continuous exposure to radio frequency irradiation could lead "to a development of malignant tumor".
The patents show that the manufacturers have been working on radiation-reducing components for at least eight years. The companies maintain that there is no contradiction between their public stance and the existence of the patents.
Scientific opinion is divided. The most recent large-scale study found no links between such phones and cancers, although other studies suggest that there may be health risks.
However, the discovery that manufacturers have apparently "hedged their bets" by applying for patents on irradiation-reducing components has alarmed consumers' groups and some scientists.
The patents are now to be used in evidence in a series of US lawsuits launched this year against businesses including the British market leader Vodafone. Some 25 US patents were unearthed by Carl Hilliard, of the Wireless Consumer Alliance, last month.
Alasdair Philips, of the British consumer watchdog Powerwatch, said: "This is confirmation that the phone companies take the possibility of health problems far more seriously than they say in public."
The patents also alarmed Dr Alan Preece, a medical physicist at Bristol University, who demonstrated in a government-funded study two years ago that mobile-phone radiation affected brain activity in ways unconnected with its heating properties.
He said: "I think they are hedging their bets by doing this so that if the evidence does emerge, they have products up their sleeves."
Christopher Newman, a 42-year-old neurologist, is bringing a £500 million lawsuit against companies including Motorola and Verizon Communications at the US federal court in Baltimore, claiming they are responsible for his malignant brain tumour. Verizon is a joint venture between America's Bell Atlantic and Vodafone, the UK's most popular network with over 12 million of the 40 million mobile users.
Mr Newman's lawyer has also recently filed class actions in five states, again naming Verizon and Motorola and others such as Nokia and Ericsson. These seek unspecified punitive damages, money to reimburse people who bought mobile headsets to reduce exposure and free protective headsets for all mobile users.
Cases have been filed on behalf of four more tumour victims. One, Michael Murray, used to test mobiles for Motorola and claims his work caused his two brain tumors.
Thompsons, Britain's biggest personal-injury law firm, has on its books 30 phone users who claim to be suffering a range of health problems.Tom Jones, a partner, said: "Any judgment showing liability in the States would strongly affect the likelihood of successful claims here."
Manufacturers denied that the patents meant that they accepted the existence of hazards. Michael Westmark, Ericsson spokesman on health, said: "Given the available scientific evidence, there is no link between mobile use and negative health effects" - a view also expressed by Norman Sandler of Motorola.
William Plummer, Nokia vice president said: "There is no contradiction here. The patents talk of 'suggestions' of health risks. A third of our employees are engaged in research and development and it is a natural course of business that they then file for patents."
The Times (London) June 11, 2001
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
Interesting that this story came from the other side of the Atlantic. This really does not place the wireless phone companies in a good light.
It can only mean one of two things, both of which are not good.
Either they believe cell phones cause cancer and are trying to protect their customers. This is very possible, but it also implies that they have been deceptive in acknowledging the risk of cell phones.
The other possibility is that they sincerely believe that the radiation from cell phones does not cause any harm and they are just marketing these devices to earn profits and take advantage of the potential market that exists due to the recent studies showing adverse effects.
Well, if they are in the second camp they have not read the article from the Lancet below, as anyone with any logical thinking process can not avoid the conclusion that there are some serious problems with cell phones.
Hands-Free Mobile Phones May Increase Radiation Exposure

Contrary to previous assumptions, hands-free mobile phone kits can significantly boost the brain's exposure to radiation, according to new research conducted by British consumer research magazine Which?
The new findings confirmed claims that the magazine first published in April that using hands-free earpieces could more than triple the brain's exposure to radiation compared to a conventional mobile phone call. That original report was dismissed in August by the British government, which commissioned research that showed the kits did cut exposure levels.
The independent lab conducting the test took thousands of measurements to explore what was causing the changes in EMF emissions. It found that one critical factor was the distance between the top of the phone's aerial and the ear.
But consumer magazine said the methodology used in the government research was flawed. They found that the shape of the test rig used in the government tests made it impossible to get the hands-free kit wire into the position that gave the highest readings. According to the report: We have found two possible explanations for this. First, the design of the SAR test rig doesn't replicate how someone would normally use a hands-free kit. Most importantly, the wire couldn't hang down straight - as it did when we took the highest readings in our other tests. Second, we found that the SAR test system looks for the point in the head where there is the highest level of radiation - and gives a final reading for only this area. But we found that kits and phones emit the highest levels of radiation in different places: kits emit most at the ear; phones emit most at the user's jaw and cheek. *
The new research confirmed that hands-free kits could act as an aerial that channeled radiation to the ear.
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The level of emissions depended on the distance between the tip of the phone's aerial and the earpiece, which varied according to how the phone was held. The government tests did not allow for this, Which? said.
According to the magazine's editor: …it's clear that consumers can't rely on hands-free kits to reduce radiation emissions at the brain from mobile phones. Although these kits can reduce radiation, they can also increase it significantly, depending on where you position the phone and kit. Unfortunately, there is no way that consumers can work out the best position to reduce radiation. Scientists agree that electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones warms brain tissue, some strains of mice have developed cancer in tests in Australia and Finland and that others become disorientated.
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Which? said the kits could cut emissions by 10 to 90% in some positions.
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In other positions they could increase them by a factor of up to 3.5.
One reason that the government's tests did not show this increased exposure is that they used only one position which did not allow the wire to hang straight down, Which? said.
Not surprisingly, mobile phone maker Ericsson played down the new findings in a public statement.
Which? said it was impossible to recommend a "safe" position for holding a phone. Both short and long distances between the aerial and the earpiece produced increased emissions, with only a short length in the middle generating lower emissions than conventional mobile phone calls. They recommend that "if you're concerned, the most important safety-first advice is to keep the number and duration of calls to a minimum, whether you use a phone with or without a hands-free kit."

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Dr. Mercola's Comment: This is the first report that I am aware of that has expressed some concern regarding the hands free kit that I have been previously highly recommending if you use a cell phone.
I have read this report several times and it seems the key factor here is to keep the aerial on the phone as far away from your body as possible. My guess is that if you follow that guideline you will be OK.
I believe the bottom line here is that we should all minimize our use of these phones as much as possible. My cell phone use is down to under five minutes per year. You might consider a similar policy if at all possible.