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Do you believe that Mobile Phones can cause Cancer?

BarryZola

BarryZola

TS Member
Can't remember ever starting a topic on TST but this one may be worth it. I have also shared this video on FB tonight but here it is if you've got a spare 10 minutes to watch it (the sound may be out of synch, blame the website):

http://rt.com/shows/the-truthseeker/cell-phone-brain-tumors-471/

The topic explored in the video has been mentioned in bits and pieces before in the past in some places, and personally, I believe there is some truth to it.

However, does anyone believe that it is scaremongering to some degree? Or do you believe that it's true? Would you be willing to substantially change the way you use your mobile phone due to the contents of the video? Or are you willing to take the risk as you enjoy your mobile phone too much? Does the pleasure and convenience of your phone outweigh the potential health risks of using it?
 
Well that's it. I'm never touching my phone again.

*chugs on a Marlboro*
 
Well, that's one potential area to explore. I also smoke, and I enjoy it, but I'm willing to take the risk for the time being. I wonder if the same people who give smokers a hard time due to the health risks would give up their little potential radiation risk pleasure box? Or will people just give it 20 years to see how many people are negatively affected?
 
Panda, as much as I agree that there is a load of c**p put out there in the media, and the video you shared is a good example, I think this mobile phone one may have a decent amount of scientific truth to it. Some people (like the smokers of the 60s) may choose to believe otherwise though. Or maybe they are completely harmless? I wouldn't completely discount the idea of mobile phones being dangerous.
 
All just a load of scaremongering rubbish for me, usually the sort that's started by people like the Daily Mail and the usual anti technology types to try and help their tedious hate campaign on things like mobile phones.
 
The concern with mobile phones is their RF output, however people who work in various industries who are exposed to high RF fields for longer periods have not demonstrated any evidence of cancer increase. It's something that is constantly been looked at but currently there is no great evidence base.
 
IBTMP

In before the Meat Pie ;)

Answer is I don't really care at the moment.
 
Microwaves are non-ionising so I'm not convinced, need more conclusive evidence.

In the modern world, everything gives us cancer so I'm not particularly worried about a plastic slab in my pocket compared to all the processed junk I eat daily.
 
A few people having cancer where they happen to hold/store their phone is not conclusive enough evidence to suggest that its the actual cause of the cancer. Give me evidence that goes outside a few carefully chosen people, and maybe I'll think about believing it. Considering there was no one from the other side of the argument giving their views, it appears as if the video has a bias against mobile phones.
 
BarryZola said:
I wonder if the same people who give smokers a hard time due to the health risks would give up their little potential radiation risk pleasure box?
Click to expand...

I'm so using that the next time someone harps on about second hand smoke. "Oh, you're worried about me having a fag outside where it gets blown away? What about that little box of death in your pocket constantly emmiting deadly radiation wherever you go?"
:D
 
Lets have a topic about how video games breed the next generation of murderers next ;)

I think this "does ____ cause cancer" topic ridiculous.

It was a fad in the media a while ago, it seems to have died down a bit but is still around, I remember a couple years ago when the news had a section about a new roller coaster opening (could have been Saw) and at the end of the section, they just had to mention something along the lines of, we are unsure about the lasting damage that can be caused by the G-force on roller coasters and whether they can cause cancer at this stage.

It's a little ridiculous, and just seems an attempt to breed a next generation of hypochondriacs.
 
What I find interesting is the frequency that the data is superimposed on the carrier signal. on some digital systems it is very close the neural frequencies in the brain.
 
If anyone in this topic actually spent five minutes researching scientific consensus on this issue as Dave has done instead of mouthing off with their completely unqualified based-on-no-evidence-at-all opinions, then we wouldn't need to be having this pointless discussion (pointless in that nobody here is a qualified scientist, so is in no position to give an 'opinion' on this one way or the other).

As often with scientific debate, the most boring post in the topic is also the only one that is actually correct.

Dave said:
The concern with mobile phones is their RF output, however people who work in various industries who are exposed to high RF fields for longer periods have not demonstrated any evidence of cancer increase. It's something that is constantly been looked at but currently there is no great evidence base.
Click to expand...
 
Sam said:
that nobody here is a qualified scientist, so is in no position to give an 'opinion' on this one way or the other
Click to expand...

Do we need to be scientists? as long as you have a qualification in the area being discussed.

There are known problems with Radio Frequencies, power output and the human body. One is direct contact injuries, with a active radiator element. the cover of the mobile phone stop this from happening.
The another main one is the frequency harmonic of water, and this is used in our favour every day. in a mircowave. This frequency is not used in mobile phone technology at the moment.
Third is supper high power, at short range. this can cause distortion of the electrical signals in the body. there is only a hand full of transmitter in the uk, capable of producing that level of power output and are regulated.

There has been studies over at least the last 50 years into the affects of radio frequency radiation on the human tissue. As it is in the non ionising range of the spectrum it can not cause damage to the genetic code within the cells, that is linked to cancer abnormalities.


Oh and Sam. my credentials are, I have been a radio amateur for 8 years. maintenance electrician by trade.
 
Do you believe that ducks give you cancer it's a stupid question
 
I don't believe that any academics have gone on record anywhere suggesting that "ducks give you cancer". However, some have gone on record to suggest that mobile phones can potentially be harmful to your health. For this reason, I don't believe it was a "stupid" question.

Thank you for your reasoned reply though, which lacked simple punctuation. I'm very impressed.
 
IMO the biggest danger presented by mobile phones is distraction. In 2012 548 people were injured or killed in road accidents where the driver was using a mobile phone (DfT statistics).

Regarding non-ionising radiation, the fields generated by a mobile phone are a fraction of the ICNIRP exposure guidelines. ICNIRP is a highly respected body on this type of thing and I use their guidelines when performing RadHaz assessments at work. I'm an electronic engineer specialising in radio communications and I work for a secretive and shady military research establishment.

The official line from Public Health (formerly the Health Protection Agency) is that there is no firm evidence that mobile phones do not cause cancer. This is a similar argument to the existence of God i.e. the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. It is a particularly worrying state of affairs as HPA only took this stance due to pressure from media and special interest groups to admit that there was the possibility of a link, regardless of how unlikely that was.
 
Plenty of scientist come up with theories that are then discredited (take MMR-autism link). The big issue is the media take one study and draw a conclusion. This isn't how science works, you need huge literature reviews to bring together all the research on one topic to come to a conclusion.

The most amusing bit about the study is the apparent idea the "subjects" got tumours where they held their phone. Thing is the brains not that big, and so if you take the population with brain tumours (not small) a fair few will have them in the temporal lobe or lower part of the parietal lobe (bit nearest a phone).

Having a quick look at a few large sample size studies the conclusion seems to be that there is little evidence of increased risk of Gliomas (primary brain tumour) though risk isn't completely excluded (mainly because the use of mobile phones hasn't been common place for very long in real terms), there is some evidence to suggest a small increase in the risk of acquiring an acoustic neuroma (benign tumour of the vestibulacochlear nerve).

I'm not too worried let's put it that way.
 
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