Monday's editorial comment:
It often seems to be left-wing politicians lecturing right-wing politicians about the importance of scientific evidence and the scientific consensus.
Unfortunately, it's politicians of all stripes who seem to fall prey to pseudoscience and fear-mongering.
Case in point: the Ontario NDP.
New Democrats in that province have failed in their attempts to force every cellphone sold in Ontario to have a warning label.
Specifically, they want consumers to be warned about an increased risk of cancer from cellphone use.
The problem for the New Democrats is that there would appear to be no such risk.
Of course, the Ontario New Democrats are not alone in cellphone cancer fearmongering. It's becoming a widespread perception.
If the media is going to continue to cover this controversy, perhaps there is an onus to at least report on what the science says.
For example, a 30-year epidemiological study published in the Journal of the Nationall Cancer Institute found that cellphone use is not associated with increases in brain cancer.
Another study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, followed more than 12,000 cell phone users from 13 countries. Again, the study found no increase in the risk of the most common types of brain tumors.
Neither of these major studies - both recently published - seem to have found their way into the news coverage of this story. On the other hand, it doesn't take much for the fear-mongers to get extensively quoted.
There are legitimate concerns to human health we need to focus on, and we need to rely on scientific evidence to determine what those are and how to respond. When we ignore the evidence, we are lost
UPDATE: I've already linked to two major, peer-reviewed scientific studies on this matter, but I suppose something like this deserves even more.
Here, first of all, is an excellent analysis of the science from Dr. Michael Shermer in Scientific American:
...Cell phones cannot cause cancer, because they do not emit enough energy to break the molecular bonds inside cells. Some forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as x-rays, gamma rays and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, are energetic enough to break the bonds in key molecules such as DNA and thereby generate mutations that lead to cancer. Electromagnetic radiation in the form of infrared light, microwaves, television and radio signals, and AC power is too weak to break those bonds, so we don’t worry about radios, televisions, microwave ovens and power outlets causing cancer.
Where do cell phones fall on this spectrum? According to physicist Bernard Leikind in a technical article in Skeptic magazine (Vol. 15, No. 4), known carcinogens such as x-rays, gamma rays and UV rays have energies greater than 480 kilojoules per mole (kJ/mole), which is enough to break chemical bonds. Green-light photons hold 240 kJ/mole of energy, which is enough to bend (but not break) the rhodopsin molecules in our retinas that trigger our photosensitive rod cells to fire. A cell phone generates radiation of less than 0.001 kJ/mole. That is 480,000 times weaker than UV rays and 240,000 times weaker than green light!
Even making the cell phone radiation more intense just means that there are more photons of that energy, not stronger photons. Cell phone photons cannot add up to become UV photons or have their effect any more than microwave or radio-wave photons can. In fact, if the bonds holding the key molecules of life together could be broken at the energy levels of cell phones, there would be no life at all because the various natural sources of energy from the environment would prevent such bonds from ever forming in the first place.
Here's more published research:
Cellular phone use and brain tumor: a meta-analysis (Kan P, Simonsen SE, Lyon JL, Kestle JR. Journal of Neuro Oncology) "...We found no overall increased risk of brain tumors among cellular phone users"
Recent Studies Show Cell Phone Use Is Not Associated With Increased Cancer Risk (Journal of the National Cancer Institute) Another reassuring piece of evidence that cellular phones do not cause cancer appears in this issue of the Journal. Researchers evaluated whether a cohort of nearly half a million cellular phone subscribers in Denmark had a higher incidence of cancer than the general population, with a particular interest in leukemia and cancers of the brain and salivary gland. The answer was a resounding no. This article comes on the heels of two case–control studies reported in December by the American Health Foundation and the National Cancer Institute, both of which also found no association between cell phone use and the risk of brain tumors.
Mobile phone radiation and the risk of cancer; a review: "The preponderance of published research works over several decades including some with over ten years of follow up have not demonstrated any significant increase in cancer among mobile phone users"
A case-control study of risk of leukaemia in relation to mobile phone use: "...This study suggests that use of mobile phones does not increase leukaemia risk"
Evaluation of carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF): "The balance of epidemiologic evidence indicates that mobile phone use of less than 10 years does not pose any increased risk of brain tumour or acoustic neuroma"
Electromagnetic fields (EMF): do they play a role in children's environmental health (CEH)? "Preliminary results do not seem to indicate a substantial increase in risk. There are presently no scientific data supporting the concept of a special vulnerability of children and adolescents to high-frequency EMF, even if the usual caveats (developing organisms and structures may be more vulnerable, decades of life to come) are considered"
Epidemiologic evidence on mobile phones and tumor risk: a review: "...the available data do not suggest a causal association between mobile phone use and fast-growing tumors such as malignant glioma in adults"
Cellular phones, cordless phones, and the risks of glioma and meningioma: "...In conclusion, no overall increased risk of glioma or meningioma was observed among these cellular phone users"
Mobile phones have not been found to be associated with any biological or adverse health effects , according to the UK's largest investigation into the possible health risks from mobile telephone technology. The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme published its conclusions on September 12 as part of its 2007 Report. The six-year research programme, chaired by Professor Lawrie Challis, Emeritus Professor of Physics at The University of Nottingham, has found no association between short term mobile phone use and brain cancer. Studies on volunteers also showed no evidence that brain function was affected by mobile phone signals or the signals used by the emergency services (TETRA)
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