Will Cell phones cause a Brain Cancer epidemic? (if you’ve got kids, READ THIS)

APPROACHING EPIDEMIC: BRAIN DAMAGE FROM MOBILE PHONE RADIATION
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Mercola.com
September 3, 2009

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/03/Brain-Damage-F
rom-Mobile-Phone-Radiation.aspx

A collaborative team of international EMF activists has released a report
detailing eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone
study.

The exposé discusses research on cell phones and brain tumors, concluding
that:

* There is a risk of brain tumors from cell phone use

* Telecom funded studies underestimate the risk of brain tumors

* Children have larger risks than adults for brain tumors

The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended to determine the risks of
brain tumors, but its full publication has been held up for years.
Components of this study published to date reveal what the authors call a
Œsystemic-skew¹, greatly underestimating brain tumor risk.

The design flaws include categorizing subjects who used portable phones
(which emit the same microwave radiation as cell phones,) as Œunexposed¹;
exclusion of many types of brain tumors; exclusion of people who had died,
or were too ill to be interviewed as a consequence of their brain tumor; and
exclusion of children and young adults, who are more vulnerable.

Ronald B. Herberman, MD, Director Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh
Cancer Institute has stated:

³Based on substantial evidence, especially from industry-independent studies
that long term exposure to radiofrequency radiation may lead to increased
risk for brain tumors, I issued a precautionary advisory last year to
faculty and staff of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

“Since then, my particular concern about exposure of children to
radiofrequency has been supported by a report from Dr. Lennart Hardell. Some
of my scientific colleagues have expressed skepticism about the reported
biological effects, especially DNA0A damage by radiofequency radiation,
because of the absence of a demonstrated underlying molecular mechanism.

“However, based on the precautionary principle, I believe it is more prudent
to take seriously the reports by multiple investigators that radiofrequency
can damage DNA and increase the risk for brain tumors, and for
industry-independent agencies to provide needed funding for detailed
research to ascertain the molecular basis for such effects.²

Lloyd Morgan, lead author and member of the Bioelectromagnetics Society
says:

³Exposure to cell phone radiation is the largest human health experiment
ever undertaken, without informed consent, and has some 4 billion
participants enrolled.

“Science has shown increased risk of brain tumors from use of cell phones,
as well as increased risk of eye cancer, salivary gland tumors, testicular
cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.

“The public must be informed.²

Sources:

Business Wire
August 25, 2009
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=2
0090825005712&newsLang=en

RadiationResearch.org
August 25, 2009
http://www.radiationresearch.org/pdfs/15reasons.asp

………….

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

After a break in the media about the dangers of cell phones, the issue will
likely regain momentum with the release of this brand new report.

An International Expert Conference on Cell Phones and Health
<http://www.environmentalhealthtrust.org/> is scheduled to take place on
September 13-15 in Washington D.C., and a yet to be formally announced
Senate hearing on cell phone safety is also in the works by Senator Arlen
Specter, according to Microwave News.

With the ever-increasing, widespread use of wireless communications, it is
imperative to understand the risks inherent in the use of the technology,
yet the government has been very slow to respond, no doubt in large part due
to industry pressure. (In fact, the cell phone industry is expected to
boycott the upcoming conference.)

Ever growing scientific research corroborates the suspicion that
information-carrying radio waves transmitted by cell phones and other
wireless devices can:

* Cause brain tumors

* Harm blood cells and cause cellular changes

* Damage your DNA

* Cause nerve-cell damage

* Accelerate and contribute to the onset of autism , and trigger Alzheimer¹s
disease

* Damage your eyes

* Cause sleep disruptions, fatigue and headaches

A quote from Chris Woollams, one of the endorsers of the new report, sums up
the issue well:

³In a world where a drug cannot be launched without proof that it is safe,
where the use of herbs and natural compounds available to all since early
Egyptian times are now questioned, their safety subjected to the deepest
scrutiny, where a new food cannot be launched without prior approval, the
idea that we use mobile telephony, including masts, and introduce WiFi and
mobile phones without restrictions around our 5 year olds is
double-standards gone mad.

“I speak, not just as an editor and scientist that has looked in depth at
all the research, but as a father that lost his beloved daughter to a brain
tumor.²

Researchers Keep Finding Links Between Cell Phone Use, Brain Damage and
Cancer

Last year, a well-circulated Swedish study found that people using cell
phones doubled their risk of developing brain cancer and acoustic neuroma (a
tumor that damages your hearing nerve).

The study also showed that people who started using cell phones before the
age of 20 were more than five times as likely to develop brain cancer.

The European Parliament responded by voting 522 to 16 to urge ministers
across Europe to impose stricter limits for exposure to radiation from
mobile and cordless phones, wi-fi and other radiation-generating devices —
in part because children are particularly vulnerable to the risk.

Dr. Gerd Oberfeld, M.D., the Speaker for Environmental Medicine for the
Austrian Medical Association in Vienna, Austria says:

“The scientific data show, with a high degree of confidence, that mobile
phone exposure is associated with an increased brain tumor risk.

“The age group below 20 years is facing the greatest risk, which for
malignant (deadly) brain tumors is about 400 percent, compared to
non-exposed.

“When we take the long latency period of up to some decades into account,
and the fact that large parts of our society, and especially more and more
teenagers and even children are using mobile phones on a daily basis, we may
well expect a brain tumor epidemic.

“From a public health perspective there is an urgent need not only for a
wake-up call for our society, but for measures that are able to combat this
public health threat effectively, now.²

The cell phone industry¹s standard comment has been that “the peer-reviewed
scientific evidence has overwhelmingly indicated that wireless devices do
not pose a public health risk.”

This report exposes that statement for the lie that it is.

In fact, there¹s no shortage of evidence showing that cell phone use (and
other wireless devices) can be dangerous to your health, and to your child
in particular.

As this new report points out, even some of the industry¹s own research
found that cell phones caused brain tumors, and subsequent industry-funded
studies from 2000 to 2002 also showed an elevated risk of brain cancer.

One such study reportedly found a 20 percent increased risk of brain tumor
for every year of cell phone use!

And, if you remove the Telecom industry funded research, then the weight of
the evidence overwhelmingly shows that cell phones cause health problems,
including, but not limited to:

* Brain tumors
* Eye cancer
* Testicular cancer
* Salivary gland tumors
* Non-Hodgkin¹s lymphoma
* Leukemia

Fortunately more and more people are beginning to take the warning signs
seriously.

In 2005, the British-based National Radiological Protection Board suggested
children younger than age 8 should not be given a cell phone as it risks
exposing their young bodies to harmful radiation. Last year Toronto’s
department of public health followed suit, warning that because of possible
side effects from radio frequency radiation, children under 8 should only
use a cell phone in emergencies, and teenagers should limit calls to less
than 10 minutes.

The U.K., Belgium, Germany, France and Russia have also introduced
precautionary policies regarding cell phone usage due to potential health
risks.

Few people realize this, but brain cancer has surpassed leukemia as the
number one cancer killer in children, and many scientists believe this is
directly linked to the exponential increase in cell phone use and other
wireless devices.

Australia has seen an increase in pediatric brain cancers of 21 percent in
just one decade. This is consistent with studies showing a 40 percent brain
tumor increase across the board in Europe and the U.K. over the last 20
years.

These statistics are consistent with many of the scientific research
findings.

Another example is the 2003 study published in Environmental Health
Perspectives (the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences). They found that rats exhibited serious neuronal brain damage
following exposure to radiation from a cell phone, at levels comparable to
what you would experience during normal use.

The nerve cell damage was observed in several places within the rats¹
brains, including the cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia.

The authors concluded:

“Intense use of mobile phones by youngsters is a serious consideration. A
neuronal damage of the kind described here may not have immediate,
demonstrable consequences, even if repeated. In the long run, however, it
may result in reduced brain reserve capacity that might be unveiled by other
later neuronal disease or even the wear and tear of aging.”

What Can You Do?

Remember, the damage from cell phone exposure can take many years to
surface. There are rarely any initial symptoms, just like smoking and lung
cancer. Are you really willing to risk the chance of developing brain cancer
because you don¹t want to sacrifice the minor inconvenience of using your
cell¹s speaker phone, or using a safe headset?

This should be of particular concern if you have children, since, just like
smoking, WiFi does not discriminate between user and bystander.

I have written more in-depth about how to reduce the risk to your child
before, and as a refresher, I strongly urge you to review some of that
information now:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/12/cancer-institu
te-warns-of-cell-phone-risks.aspx

For a review of HOW cell phones and other wireless technology can cause the
type of damage just discussed, I recommend reading this previous article:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/26/cell-phone-dan
gers-what-they-don-t-want-you-to-see.aspx

In addition, the eye-opening DVD Public Exposure
<http://www.mercola.com/forms/public_exposure.htm> covers this serious
health issue in even greater depth. But for immediate recommendations on how
to protect yourself and your family from the dangers of cell phone
radiation, please review the guidelines included in my previous article, Now
Half the World Has a Cell Phone – – Why That is a Brain Tumor Epidemic
Waiting to Happen:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/06/14/now-half-the-w
orld-has-a-cell-phone-why-that-is-a-brain-tumor-epidemic-waiting-to-happen.a
spx

………….

Related Links:

Your Cell Phone and Brain Tumors
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/06/your-cell-phon
e-and-brain-tumors.aspx

What’s More Important — Your Cell Phone Or Your Brain?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/05/20/what-s-more-im
portant-your-cell-phone-or-your-brain.aspx

Why Children and Teens Should Stay Away From Cell Phones
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/08/09/why-children-a
nd-teens-should-stay-away-from-cell-phones.aspx