The signs and portents have been around for some time. If you use a cell phone you might want to pay attention. And who doesn’t use a cell phone these days. If you can talk, and you live in the United States, you probably have a cell phone. Guess what? You might also have cancer.
PITTSBURGH – The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.
The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don’t find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Personally, I hate phones. They add one more layer of distraction to my life that I really don’t need. I would much rather you email me or send an instant message. Despite the recent warning from Dr. Herberman, I know that I’m in the minority. Most people simply love their cell phones. For those of you who fall into this category, rest assured. Not everyone is preaching the doctrine of cell phone brain cancer.
Joe Farren, a spokesman for the CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for the wireless industry, said the group believes there is a risk of misinforming the public if science isn’t used as the ultimate guide on the issue.
“When you look at the overwhelming majority of studies that have been peer reviewed and published in scientific journals around the world, you’ll find no relationship between wireless usage and adverse health affects,” Farren said.
Frank Barnes, who chaired the January report from the National Research Council, said Wednesday that “the jury is out” on how hazardous long-term cell phone use might be.
Speaking from his cell phone, the professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder said he takes no special precautions in his own phone use. And he offered no specific advice to people worried about the matter.
It’s up to each individual to decide what if anything to do. If people use a cell phone instead of having a land line, “that may very well be reasonable for them,” he said.
I’m going to keep not calling anyone every chance I get. If we can’t get together in person, let’s Google Talk. Can you hear me now? No? That’s because I’m not on the damn phone.