News WHO says correlation between cancer and mobile phone usage.

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

through CNN:
WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk - CNN.com

A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."

What that means is they found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers

Now, I guess this doesn't necessarily mean that cell phones cause cancer, as correlation doesn't imply causation however I have not read the studies, so I can't tell in which amount they're certain of causation.

I do think it's a bit over the top in throwing it in the same pool as gas exhausts, smoking and asbestos. Then again, I don't know how they pool things together. If it's "invisible things causing danger" instead of "Stuff causing x amount of danger" it might be fitting...

 

[Scouse]

I do think it's a bit over the top in throwing it in the same pool as gas exhausts, smoking and asbestos.

Really? That just an emotional reaction or do you have opposing evidence?

The biggest problem is the lack of long-term studies, apparently. Mentioned in the article too:

"The biggest problem we have is that we know most environmental factors take several decades of exposure before we really see the consequences," said Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

So, unsurprisingly (to me), after years of rumour there's possible link between mobile use and cancer, a bit like smoking maybe.

/queue long lines of freddies to deny even the possibility, again

 

[Aoami]

<Vic Reeves>

I don't know, WHO says correlation between cancer and mobile phone usage?

</Vic Reeves>

 

[Embattle]

Logic says microwaving your brain was probably never very good, although short bursts probably aren't going to be much of an issue compared to the generation who constantly have one stuck to their ear.

 

[cHodAX]

Logic says microwaving your brain was probably never very good, although short bursts probably aren't going to be much of an issue compared to the generation who constantly have one stuck to their ear.

Yep and the logic makes utter sense, low to moderate usage probably won't cause a high level of danger but those people with the phone to thier head all day are running a very high risk.

 

[megadave]

sounds like Laddey is fucked

 

[old.Tohtori]

Ban mobiles from bars! Bastards giving me passive mobile cancer!

Only fair since i can't f*cking smoke there

 

[Zenith.UK]

Yep and the logic makes utter sense, low to moderate usage probably won't cause a high level of danger but those people with the phone to thier head all day are running a very high risk.

This is why I made a point of getting a bluetooth headset that doesn't sit on your ear.
Jabra BT3030 "Dogtag" along with Sennheiser CXL400 headphones.

The phone is usually on the dashboard mount, the dogtag is on my work ID lanyard and the headphones are on their own lanyard. I'm on the phone anything from 1-3 hours a day so I wanted to do something to reduce my direct exposure to RF radiation. 2mW of bluetooth (2400MHz) to the chest is a hell of a lot better than 250mW of GSM (900Mhz) at the ear.

 

[Marc]

sounds like Laddey is fucked

hahaha

 

[Nate]

This is why I made a point of getting a bluetooth headset that doesn't sit on your ear.
Jabra BT3030 "Dogtag" along with Sennheiser CXL400 headphones.

The phone is usually on the dashboard mount, the dogtag is on my work ID lanyard and the headphones are on their own lanyard. I'm on the phone anything from 1-3 hours a day so I wanted to do something to reduce my direct exposure to RF radiation. 2mW of bluetooth (2400MHz) to the chest is a hell of a lot better than 250mW of GSM (900Mhz) at the ear.

Headphones give you cancer though.

Just like laddey, and freddys.

 

[Zenith.UK]

Headphones give you cancer though.

Just like laddey, and freddys.

Nate, even you could give me cancer but the risk of it is so low that I don't worry about it.
Hell, people get irradiated every day. If you spend more than a few minutes in the sun then you risk sunburn. Sunburn is a form of acute radiation burn. The UV in sunlight can cause genetic damage in the skin leading to melanoma.

There is a constant "rain" of cosmic rays coming from deep space. I don't know the figures, but it is something factored into the annual radiation exposure of people working on aeroplanes.

If you live in an area rich in granitoid rocks, a naturally occurring radioactive gas called radon seeps out over a period of time. This is another risk factor that gets measured in some locations.

My point is that we get a hell of a lot more than the equivalent of 250mW of radiation constantly wherever we are and yet we don't think about it because there's little we CAN do about it. Using a mobile phone however is something we can do something about, so while I don't personally subscribe to "mobiles are bad mmkay?", I recognise the benefit of reducing my personal exposure. I'll still have and use a phone on a daily basis.

 

[DaGaffer]

I've always taken the view that stuff like bluetooth - having a constant wireless connection between a headset in one ear and the phone in your pocket, transmitting through your body, is probably a bad thing (as well as making you look like a knob).

On the other hand, if you could see EM, the stuff is sleeting through us the whole time, so if it is dangerous, we're fucked anyway.

 

[Vladamir]

sounds like Laddey is fucked

Maybe he's got a lead pillow though?

 

[Wij]

Sorry - it's bollox. Microwave photons don't carry enough energy to damage chemical bonds. Therefore every time a photon with that energy collides with part of a cell (very rarely, most will just pass through) the worst it can do is impart a very tiny amount of heat. That's how microwave ovens work, only they use a fuckload more photons. Fortunately increases in heat are very easy to measure and the heating provided by mobiles is negligible in the extreme and well within normal variation of body temperature.

Also I call Shennanigans on long term studies. Low energy photons have been added by humans to the world around us for decades. How do you think radios and tellies work ?

Same bollox as power-line fear. It's just not true.

 

[old.user4556]

One thing that scares me about this is the brain tumour itself. The vast majority of adult brain tumours are malignant and there is no cure. Perhaps it's the media focus, but considering how rare brain tumours are supposed to be, I can think of quite a few people that have died / suffered from one:

- my next door neighbours' friend died
- my dad's best mate died
- my brother-in-law's mum died
- Seve Ballesteros recently died
- Senator Ted Kennedy died
- Richard Burns (rally driver) died
- Mo Mollam died
- Tom Daley's dad (olympic diver?) just died, was in the news

Everywhere I look, fucking brain tumours. Worst of all (and I didn't want to post about this), my closest cousin to me was rushed to hospital after having a massive seizure. She had a brain scan a couple of weeks ago where they detected an "abnormality". Well, she has a brain tumour and we're waiting the results to find out how aggresive it is and what the prognosis is. She's suffering very bad headaches and is bed ridden (she's only 33). I know that she's going to die, but I don't know how long it will take.

Sorry to dump that into this thread, but how can I know of so many cases of such a 'rare cancer'? Am I just very unlucky? Or is there something a lot more sinister going on? (cell phones or not).

 

[Job]

Right 10 people from THE WORLD!!!!

Firstly 90% of the radiation is absorbed by your skin, electromagnetic radiation cannot mutate DNA (the sole cause of cancer) unless you ramp it's frequency up to a million times that of a mobile phone.
40 percent increase in such a rare event is meaningless, utterly meaningless.
A group of birdspotters gets' 1 penis cancer per million
A group of non birdspotters gets two penile cancers per million.
A 100% increase that proves that birdspotting halves your penis cancer risk.

You could quite simply apply this logic to anything we do, from picking your nose to reading Bill Bryson books

Oh and by the way, mobiles go up to 2 watts. Old cb radios went up to 5 watts or whatever you wanted to boost them to and your local TV transmitter is about half a million watts.

 

[Tom]

Fuck sake. "OMG MOBILE PHONE FRYING MY KID'S BRAIN"

Said by the idiot mother pushing her toddler along the pavement, in a pram 12 inches from the ground. Right next to a road full of traffic that spews carcinogens and proven poisons straight into that kid's lungs. And that, after eating a breakfast of poptarts and coca-cola.

 

[cHodAX]

Nate, even you could give me cancer but the risk of it is so low that I don't worry about it.

Nate wouldn't give you cancer, just a sticky bumhole and a funny walk for a few days.

 

[cHodAX]

Maybe he's got a lead pillow though?

Nope, just his tongue, cock and nipple peircings are lead.

 

[cHodAX]

One thing that scares me about this is the brain tumour itself. The vast majority of adult brain tumours are malignant and there is no cure. Perhaps it's the media focus, but considering how rare brain tumours are supposed to be, I can think of quite a few people that have died / suffered from one:

- my next door neighbours' friend died
- my dad's best mate died
- my brother-in-law's mum died
- Seve Ballesteros recently died
- Senator Ted Kennedy died
- Richard Burns (rally driver) died
- Mo Mollam died
- Tom Daley's dad (olympic diver?) just died, was in the news

Everywhere I look, fucking brain tumours. Worst of all (and I didn't want to post about this), my closest cousin to me was rushed to hospital after having a massive seizure. She had a brain scan a couple of weeks ago where they detected an "abnormality". Well, she has a brain tumour and we're waiting the results to find out how aggresive it is and what the prognosis is. She's suffering very bad headaches and is bed ridden (she's only 33). I know that she's going to die, but I don't know how long it will take.

Sorry to dump that into this thread, but how can I know of so many cases of such a 'rare cancer'? Am I just very unlucky? Or is there something a lot more sinister going on? (cell phones or not).

In my first 20 years of life I didn't know anyone who developed a brain tumor. The following 16 years though are very different, 7 people at the last count and 2 of those were family members. I know those numbers don't mean anything statistically from a scientific standpoint but on a personal level it raises more than a few red flags. My brother is also a well published biomedical scientist and we have discussed this topic many times, he firmly believes that prolonged exposure over the long term is definately a factor in occurance of tumors, however he does admit that not enough quality science has been done on the subject, mainly because a definitive yes answer has repercussions worth trillions of dollars.

 

[Job]

I'm sorry but 'knowing' someone famous who gets brain cancer is taking perception over reality to the edge.
How about those tens of thousands of celebrities you 'know' who don't get brain cancer?
And you might say 'I don't know tens of thousands of celebrities'
Well you'll know one of them when they get brain cancer.

 

[Lamp]

Don't eat eggs! Eggs are OK. Cut down red meat. Red meat is good for you. Red wine. Listening to music. Microwaved food. Power lines. Bacon. Bad posture. Coffee. Omega-3. You could go on & on. Unless you're one of these people who are permanently glued to their phone (3 hour conversations & the like), you'll probably be ok. Lets face it, the average bloke's phone conversation is what, about a minute long?

 

[georgie]

How do you manage to stretch:

"Fancy the pub?"
"Yeah"
"K, see you in 5"

to a whole minute?

 

[Lamp]

I dunno. You could have a stuttering mate with tourettes...


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