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Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer? Lakshmi Jagannathan 11/30/05 How Cell Phones Work Making a call: Voice Radio Waves Base Station Receiving a call: Base Station Radio Waves Voice Radiowaves Radiowaves- Radiofrequency energy Form of Non-Ionizing Radiation Ionization: High levels of energy that cause damage to biological tissues, including DNA Heats Tissue Damages Tissue Causes Diseases like Cancer Ex: Medical X-Ray= High Doses Pose Risks Electromagnetic Spectrum When did this ‘concern’ start? 1993: David Reynard’s Lawsuit Claimed that wife’s fatal brain tumor caused by cell phones Appeared on Larry King Live Results: Case Dismissed for lack of scientific and medical evidence Significance: First to enter public domain Second Major Trial 2000: Chris Newman’s $800 million lawsuit Neurologist: Malignant tumor behind right ear Court/Judge: 23-page ruling or “textbook” that shows the court’s emphasis on scientific evidence Result: No evidence that cell phone caused cancer Significant: Another Major Setback for people who claim that cell phones cause cancer Animal Testing 1997: Test on Mice in Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia Procedure: 200 mice- 100 exposed to pulsed digital phone radiation; 100 controls Result: Significant increase in B-cells (implicated in 85% of all cancers) After 18 months, exposed group had twice as many tumors Problem: Mice sometimes exposed to 20 hours of radiation!! Therefore, not very comparable to humans Significant Studies/Tests Experiment: Patients with brain cancer were compared to patients without brain cancer, in terms of their past cell phone usage Description: 1) Stockholm: 233 brain cancer patients diagnosed between 1994 and 1996 to 466 controls 2) New York, Providence, and Boston: Conducted by American Health Association 469 brain cancer patients between 1994 and 1998 to 422 controls Significant Studies/Tests Description 3) Phoenix, Boston, and Pittsburgh: Conducted by U.S National Cancer Institute 782 cancer patients between 1994 and 1998 with 799 controls 4) Denmark: Largest Cohort Study Attempted to Link 420,095 users between 1982 to 1995 to Danish Cancer registry Results of Studies/Tests Three Main Results: 1) Patients with brain cancer did not report more cellular phone use overall than the controls. All types of cancers and all locations were considered 2) None of the studies showed a "dose-response relationship“: Brain Cancer didn’t increase with more cell phone usage 3) No Clear Link between the side of the head that the brain cancer occurred and where the cell phone was used Who Regulates Cell Phones? FDA (Food and Drug Administration): Responsible for monitoring electronic products to ensure acceptable amounts or raditation emission FCC (Federal Communications Commission) Places Limits on Radio emission waves from all mobile phones What can we make out of all of it? Cell Phone: Relatively New Technology Lack of Ionizing Radiation and Low Energy Level Emitted: Unlikely that this device causes cancer Several well-designed and studies found no link between cancer and cell phone Some recent studies found a POSSIBLE link to acoustic neuroma, a rare tumor that develops behind the ears not a valid claim! FDA says: “highly impossible” Summary John E. Moulder, Ph.D., a cancer researcher and professor of radiation oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin says: “From the physics standpoint [only 6/10 of a watt emitted even if cell phone is right against the skull], biological effects from mobile phones are ‘somewhere between impossible and implausible.’” "Some people think the power emitted by the phones is so low, it's a silly thing to research. But I think it remains a legitimate area of study." Remedy? BioPro Technology EMF protection- for all household products Harmonizes frequencies and makes it less dangerous Video- Dangers of EMF Dangers of EMF and Cell Phones: www.emf-health.com Reference History of Cell Phones: http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~cang/history/public.html Dr. Moulder’s Research: Consumers' Research Magazine Business Week RCR Wireless News Radiation Research Pharmaceutical Representative New Hampshire Business Review Total Health Science FDA Consumer New York Times