Are cellphones a danger to your health or not? This question, which has been ongoing since the introduction of cellphones, and particularly smartphones, is in the news again, this time with a debate between the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to CBS News the NTP is warning consumers that a study in rats shows an uptick in brain cancer and heart tumors connected to cellphone radiation. The FDA, on the other hand, says not to worry, as the findings “should not be applied to human cellphone usage.”
So which is it? Should we go on our merry way and quit worrying about cellphone radiation, as the FDA suggests, or should we figure out a way to turn the phones off and keep them at a distance from our bodies when we are using them? Personally, I side with the NTP, if for no other reason than the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified cellphones as a Group B “possible carcinogen,” based on evidence available since 2011.
And while researchers continue to urge the IARC to upgrade this classification from a “possible” to a “probable” human carcinogen based on new evidence, the telecommunications industry is still orchestrating, as it has for the past 25 years, PR campaigns misleading consumers, journalists and policymakers about the science of cellphone radiation.
From the standpoint of those who are industriously studying cellphone radiation’s effects on animals, there is clear evidence that this type of radiation promotes various types of cancer, including heart, brain, prostate, liver and pancreatic tumors. In humans, reports have already been making the news that those who begin using cell phones heavily before age 20 have four to five times more brain cancer by their late 20s, compared to those whose exposure is minimal.
And whether you want to believe it or not, the mere fact that the IARC placed cellphones on its Class B registry means cellphones are right up there in the same category as diesel engine exhaust, some pesticides, and some heavy metals. The expert panel ruled that there was "some evidence" that regular cell phone use increased the risk of two types of tumors – brain tumors (gliomas) and acoustic neuromas.
The proof goes on and on, so while the FDA argues that cellphone radiation is only dangerous to rats, I, for one, am siding with the NTP. Since cellphones have become a near-necessity these days, the best thing to do is to keep your phone turned off, or at the least in airplane mode, except when you’re using it. Then when you do need it, always use the speaker and keep the phone at a distance from your body — and never carry it on your body.