Cell phones: we all use them, but are they safe?
Science indicates that there is some risk to using cell phones and smartphones
Cell phones were once a mark of being a very important businessperson or politician. As a musician, I remember playing in some nicer restaurants about 25 years ago and the flourish and swagger with which many folks pulled out their phones to make their obviously very important phone calls.
Things have certainly changed. Cell phones are now ubiquitous. According to the Pew Research Center, 97 percent of Americans own a cell phone or smartphone, and 100 percent for those between the ages of 18 and 39. Smartphones are overtaking cell phones, with even the majority of seniors using these more sophisticated devices. Curiously, black and Hispanic Americans are slightly more likely—by 2 or 3 percent—to own a cell phone. The same can be said of the very wealthy and urban dwellers. Their cell phone ownership slightly outpaces that of folks with lower incomes and those who live in rural areas.
Information on worldwide cell phone use is less reliable, but mobile phones have been described as indispensable for much of the world’s population. As of ten years ago, Forbes magazine claimed that, looking at the world’s population as a whole, more people had cell phones than toilets.
I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the modern age, resisting until practicality made me grudgingly buy a cell phone. It got to the point about ten years ago when I could no longer rely on a pay phone being readily available
Cell phones and cancer
Since cell phone use took off in the 1990s, there have been concerns about the health consequences of using them. On the face of it, it makes sense: you’re holding a powerful transmitter right next to your head. It follows that there would be some consequence to all those radio waves pouring out of a device held up to your ear every time you speak into the device.
The initial science found no strong link between cell phone use and cancer risks. Other science in subsequent years indicated there was no need to be overly concerned about the risks from talking on your cell phone. And presently, prominent health officials say that the jury is still out on the connection between cell phones and cancer.
But over the years, there has been enough science to cause me to worry, at least a little bit. A study published in 2004 found that people living close to cell phone transmission towers had a higher incidence of cancer than the general population. Of 622 people living in the area, six cases of cancer were diagnosed: three of breast cancer, and one each of ovarian cancer, lung cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, hypernephroma, plus one case of non-cancerous osteoid osteoma.
Cell phone manufacturers, phone companies, and tech companies that produce the microchips and other hardware that go into cell phones have an obvious interest in ensuring that science finds no health risk for people using their products. So it is unsurprising that this study, published in Open Environmental Sciences in 2012, which analyzed the scientific studies performed on cell phones, determined that industry-sponsored studies found inconclusive or weak evidence linking cell phones and brain tumors, while independent studies actually did find a link between tumors and cell phone use. I’m reminded of the “science” sponsored by tobacco companies that found no link between their products and cancer, something that they still do.
In a meta-analysis from around five to six years ago, researchers noted the shortcomings of many cell phone studies. Some studies included individuals who simply owned a cell phone, whether or not the person actually used the phone. In many studies people were enrolled who had used their cell phones for as little as six months.
Once the researchers weeded out these questionable studies, they found 24 studies of people who had regularly used their phones for ten years or more. Using the data from these 24 studies, the researchers found a significantly higher risk of salivary gland tumors and all types of brain tumors in people who had used their cell phones for ten years or more. The results of this meta-analysis were published in the International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health.
Cell phones and memory
In Australia, scientists looked at 317 adolescents who used cell phones. The kids had faster memory responses, but their memories were less accurate. I thought I had been avoiding this pitfall by texting instead of calling, but this study found the same problem from texting.
Another study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2018, looked at students—seventh, eighth and ninth graders—from over 20 schools in central Switzerland. Scientists gave the students memory tests, having them remember the names of cities. They also tested their ability to remember two–dimensional shapes. When it came to remembering names, use of phones didn’t seem to have any effect, but for memory of shapes, the more a boy or girl was on the phone, the less he or she remembered them, particularly when the student held the phone to the right ear. Students who preferred using their left ears did not seem to suffer the same memory loss, probably due to the differing functions of the brain hemispheres.
My guess is that you’re a cell phone user. Do you think the above information might change the way you use your phone? Please chime in by clicking the “Leave a comment” button.
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