About mobile phone usage

As we use the mobile phone more and more, sometimes we forget about this. But this is always a nagging fear at the back of our minds ...
ST Mind Your Body (19 Sep) has an article about a British study on this subject ...

~~This won't give you a brain tumour, but...
Major British study finds mobile phone usage won't damage your health in the short term, but over long term, it's too early to tell
The debate about mobile phone safety has raged for years. Aseries of conflicting reports has led to fears that the phones and their accompanying base stations may harm health and increase the risk of cancer.
Britain's biggest investigation - a six-year research programme - into mobile phone safety recently released its conclusions.
What is the latest study?
The United Kingdom Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme was established in 2001 on the recommendation of an independent, government-commissioned report chaired by Sir William Stewart.
The £8.8million (S$27million) programme is jointly funded by government and the industry, although it has an independent management committee.
It is comprised mainly of university-based academics.
The first of its 28 research projects into mobile phones, base stations and masts started at the end of 2001 and, to date, 23 have been completed.
What health effects have mobile phones been linked to?
Fears have been raised about a number of possible adverse effects to health.
The highest-profile consequence, some research has suggested, has been an increased risk of brain and ear tumours.
But there have also been claims that radio-frequency fields affect brain function, which could lead to problems with blood pressure and heart rate.
And some argue that mobile phone usage can trigger electrical hyper-sensitivity. Sufferers of the condition say they suffer from headaches, dizziness and tingling when they come into contact with devices such as mobile phones, base stations, computers and television sets.
The 2000 Stewart report concluded that mobile phones do not appear to harm health, but recommended further research on the issue.
In 2005, Sir William added that mobile phone use by older children should be limited as a precaution, and that children under eight should not use them at all.
Does the latest report give mobile phones a clean bill of health?
It does rule out short-term effects to brain function and links to electrical hyper-sensitivity, and says further research is now not needed.
But on the issue of cancer, it is more ambiguous.
No evidence of a greater short-term risk was found - but researchers said the problem was that cancers do not generally emerge until 10 to 15years after the event that triggers them.
There were very few people in the study who had been using mobile phones for longer than 10years, the researchers said.
But they added those who had did show a 'hint' of an excess risk, although this was only on the borderline of statistical significance.
Base stations were not looked at in as much detail as mobile phones.
But researchers said radio frequency exposure was much lower - although there are problems measuring this exactly, as it depends on where they are sited - and pose no health risks.
The programme did not look at mobile phone use by children.
Researchers said at the time, such usage was less common than it is now and there were ethical concerns about testing children.
What is happening next?
The programme has been given more than £6million to expand its research.
It will now look at the effect of mobile phone technology on children, as well as carry out longer-term studies on the risk of serious disease.
This will include looking for links to cancers and degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The research is likely to involve more than 200,000 people and include researchers from Denmark, Finland and Sweden as well as the UK.
So what is the current advice on mobile phone usage?
Programme chairman Lawrie Challis would not be drawn on whether people - and in particular children - should restrict mobile phone use.
He said it was up to the government to offer advice, although in previous media interviews he had warned about letting children use them.
The UK Department of Health said the precautionary principle set out by Sir William still stands.
-BBC NEWS