Cell Phones and Cancer: How To Stay Safe

Do cell phones cause cancer? The question has nagged researchers and users for the entire time - roughly the last 20 years - that these phones have been in common use.

The Food and Drug Administration's website states, "The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems." The FDA emphasizes that cell phones emit low-level, non-heating radiofrequency (RF) energy, rather than electron-stripping ionizing radiation, the type proven to permanently damage tissues and disrupt DNA.

But damage from RF energy may be cumulative over very long periods. Since cell phones show no signs of going away - indeed, most American children today face a lifetime of exposure - it's vital to focus closely on the most recently published studies, the ones that show the effects of longer-term exposure.

I am not persuaded that the FDA has done that sufficiently.

Recently, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that advocates for health-protective policies, has reported on key studies (including, crucially, several recent ones, published from 2007 to 2009) that link radiation from long-term cell phone use with increased risks of brain and salivary gland tumors, migraines and vertigo, as well as behavior problems in children, including hyperactivity. Among the findings cited:

• An analysis of 25 earlier studies by two research groups showing a 50 to 90 percent increase in the risk of glioma (a brain tumor that is frequently malignant) on the side of the head favored for cell phone use in individuals who had used cell phones for more than 10 years. It also showed a 60 percent increase in acoustic neuromas, benign but troublesome tumors of a cranial nerve among long-term cell phone users
• A 50 to 60 percent increased risk of salivary gland tumors among people who used cell phones frequently.
• A 10 to 20 percent increased risk of hospitalization for migraine and vertigo among long-term cell phone users.
• An 80 percent increased risk for emotional and hyperactivity problems among young children who use cell phones and whose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy.

All of this sounds very alarming, and it is not good news, but it is important to keep the numbers in perspective. When speaking in terms of a percentage increase in risk, bear in mind that if, for example, one person out of 100 is normally at risk of a brain tumor, a 100 percent increase in risk means that two people out of 100 would be at risk. It does not mean that as a cell phone user, you have a 100 percent chance of developing a brain tumor. The actual risk to a given individual indicated by these studies is quite small.

Still, I believe prudence is warranted.

The EWG report maintains that current U.S. government radiation standards are outdated. It noted that in 2008, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging member countries to develop lower radiation limits for cell phones - no such steps have been taken in the U.S. Here, particular concern is focused on the amount of radiation that could penetrate a child's softer, thinner skull (roughly twice the amount that could penetrate an adult skull) and that long-term cell phone use starting in childhood could pose even bigger risks than those already documented. Experts in the U.S. and Europe have advised limiting youngsters' cell phone use.

Fortunately, the smart response to this report is not necessarily to abandon or even curtail cell phone use, but rather to use them more carefully. The saving grace of cell phones is that, like all point-sources of radiation, they obey the inverse-square law: the strength of an electromagnetic field is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source point. This means that if you move the phone twice as far away from your head, you get one quarter the RF; move it three times farther, you get one-ninth the RF. So rather than clasping the phone to your ear (roughly one inch from your brain), use the phone in speaker mode (roughly 15 inches from your brain) and you'll drop the RF to your brain to a mere 1/225th of the against-the-ear dosage.

Aside from that, the EWG check list for safe cell phone use is similar the safety tips I've been recommending for some time:

• Save long conversations for land-line phones.
  
• Use a headset or the speakerphone setting, and keep the phone itself away from your body.
  
• Find out how much radiofrequency energy your cell phone emits. This measurement is called the Specific Absorption Rate or SAR. The SAR permitted in the United States is 1.6 watts per kilogram. The FCC maintains a list of the SAR of various phone models; the EWG also has a simple tool to check your phone's emissions.

Specific Absorption Rate or SAR. The SAR permitted in the United States is 1.6 watts per kilogram. The FCC maintains a list of the SAR of various phone models; the EWG also has a simple tool to check your phone's emissions.

The EWG also contends that the U.S. government should require phones to be labeled with their radiation emissions at the point of sale. I agree.

Andrew Weil, M.D., is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the editorial director of www.DrWeil.com. Become a fan on Facebook and follow Dr. Weil on Twitter.

 

 

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Comments

[CanAmFam]

It's about time this issue received the coverage it's due. I've read all the research and it's alarming. Keep your kids away from cell phones folks, and minimize your time on them. You only get one brain.

[beyondliberal]

There was actually a peer-reviewed article posted in the past couple of months in Physician Watch-- General Medicine (a valid medical site for doctors) which showed a link to head/neck cancers and brain tumors.
We must remember the FDA is always at least 2 years behind the current medical research, and is frequently in error. I don't believe hardly anything they say. You shouldn't, either, without doing plenty of research of what is actually in the medical literature.

[equianimi]

The FDA is also frequently bribed by the companies they're suppose to be regulating. Now that I think of it though does the FDA have anything to do with this... they just deal with food and drugs right? Anyway same difference, there are conflicts of interest in all government agencies since there are no requirements put on who they can or can't hire along with no transparency.

[drricklippin]

Thanks Andy for writing on a serious subject since cell phone use is so ubiquitous

Here is my mind-body contribution to the dialogue.

Maybe some of what we HEAR on our cell phone calls is contributing to ill health?

(not unlike YOUR now famous "news holiday" good Rx)

Be Well,

Dr. Rick Lippin
Southampton,Pa

[madeline4434]

Can some one please really prove to me that cell phones cause cancer?
This article only states that there is an increased risk. Cell phones came around in 1973 and have grown very popular.
The article stated that it causes an increased risk of brain tumors or salivary gland cancers. Should the rates of these not be increasing as cell phone use increases? And can you prove it is from cell phones and not by something such as smoking?
There is also an increased risk of problems with children as well as hospitalization. Have these rates been going up? Not likely.
Wireless routers and satellite dishes emit radiation too, should we ban those?
Many people do not even talk on their cell phones, they text or use the internet for communication and talk on their landline.
Cell phones causing cancer is about as threatening as death by sneezing or slipping in the shower.

[Tanja DuVall]

Well seeing as the frequencies have been linked to the decreases in our honey bee's why would you think this is fare fetched and if there is something that is harming us then yes then find a way to fix it or get rid of it it is that simple....... I would think the BEE'S would have spoke volums to the world about this, and with out Bee's we do not have food THINK ABOUT THAT! in Peace Tanja

[scrogger]

Oh and you say cell phones came in around 1973? Which planet were you on? My g./f had one in 1992 and she was one of the first. It was about 10" x 3" x 2" and weighed about 2 pounds. I remember being so impressed she could actually check her voice mail from the car. They weren't 'popular' for a few more years yet, at least here in the US.

[organicallywild]

I am very sensitive to electrical energy and could not even use the cell phone for one minute before a horrible feeling of heat and preasure that started in and around my ear, traveling down my arm. I have found several tools out there to be very effective for protection. Inexpensive black tourmaline, even in small pieces, carried in your pocket, placed around your computer, in your car, around the TV. I have it every where. It is cheap and can be found in gem and mineral shops any where. I made little earrings from black tourmaline beads that help protect my head from EMF. I learned allot from the reseach at BIO PRO, also ordered alot of their products and found them to be amazing. I have seen allot of good results from Phyllis Light at lighthealing .com. Some people have made little cupcake sized protectors from Polimer resin, metal shavings and quarts chrystals that I have seen work well. There are things you can do to protect yourself from being a victim and still reap the benefits of modern technology

[mzrecycle]

I wonder if older phones emit more or less radiation? My phone is the original Motorola flip phone. I carry in my purse and use it very infrequently. So infrequently I use a pay-as-you-use system. I pay more per minute this way, but my conversations are infrequent and short. I had a contract for a couple of years, but even with roll-over, I would lose minutes at the end of the year. I save a lot of $$ this way.

I see people slap their phones to their ears as soon as they land on a plane, and as they walk into stores. I can't believe there are that many important phone conversations. . .

[brooklyncitizen]

What's funny is seeing couples strolling arm in arm each on their own phone.

[KristinNoelle]

The last 20 years that cell phones have been "common" in use? I don't remember anyone with a cell phone in '89. My dad got a car phone maybe a year or so after that and it was a huge deal. He rarely used it though. Calls cost a dollar per minute.

[ForVivi]

Has anybody seen the You Tube videos of cell phones popping corn?

I wonder if they are a real experiment.

[ssg13565]

The maker of those videos has admitted that they are fake.

He actually dropped in the fully popped kernels and then ran the video backwards,

[gotsmarter]

Dr. Weil's wisdom has been well known for years. I appreciate his care and attention to all things related to health, and I'll watch for more information from him as it becomes available.

[gypsy508]

The consumer information I got with my Verizon wireless phone states that studies have not proved a link but also not disproved one. It admits there will be RF exposure -- of course -- including from your hip if mounted there. Then it goes on to tell you that if you are worried, use a hands free kit.

[gypsy508]

Anyone bother to read those small print warnings that come in your cell phone box? Try it before commenting and realize that is the minimum they are required to inform you.

[zell]

Everyone needs to read Dr. Weil's article and govern themselves accordingly. People may say that cell phones do not cause cancer, but we must ask ourselves the question: Where are all of these brain cancers coming from? I am sure that we all know someone who has had brain cancer or cancer of the salivary gland, whereas 10 to 15 years ago, I did not know anyone with brain cancer of any other cancer of the head or neck.

[ahuffreader]

The inverse square law is only applicable for point sources. It's a decent approximation for more complex antenna shapes when the receiver is distant from the antenna. But Dr. Weil's 1/225 estimate has overstated precision.

[1sparrow]

use land lines he said...ha.. a.t.t, is corrupt and coming back!!

[1sparrow]

i changed my pillow to this velvet thing from my dad