Cell phones- THE CANCER LINK
Do cell phones cause cancer? The definite answer to this question would still take decades. Meanwhile, more and more studies are showcasing the fact that the non-ionizing radiations emitted from the cell phones are not completely safe and have a greater risk of causing cancer. The cell phones, including smartphones, emit a form of energy called as Radio Frequency waves (RF). These radiations are suspected of causing brain tumor or other kinds of tumors in the head and neck area.
Remember, people once thought smoking was non-injurious to health. Today, are we risking good health by using smart phones and cell phones?
Researches and studies have shown that exposure to very high signal cell phone radiation can increase the risk of malignant gliomas in the brain or schwannomas of the heart. The schwannomas are the tumors that develop in the nerve sheath.
The result of the studies on the effect of mobile phones o human health gave mixed results. It includes:
- There is a higher risk of tumors on the side of the head where the phones are held.
- Most studies do not show dose-response relationship which means increased usage will not increase the risk of brain tumor.
- Those who begin using cell phones at teenage have 4 to 5 times higher risk of being diagnosed with brain cancer.
- Sperms and mitochondrial damage are 3 times faster in a person who is more exposed to the cell phone radiations compared to the person who is less exposed.
CELL PHONE PROTECTION TRICKS:
- ¨ Create distance: keep your phone away from your body by using a wired headset or speak phones. Electromagnetic radiations are 75% lower 2 inches away and 50 times lower at 3 feet distance.
- ¨ Keep it out of your pocket: don’t keep your cell phones in your pocket or below the pillow even if you are not talking. This is because the cell phones will constantly transmit radiations to the nearby towers thereby exposing you to radiations.
- ¨ Text more and talk less: texting reduces the length of radiation exposure from your body. When you hit “send” keep the phone slightly away from your body.
- ¨ Don’t use your cell as an alarm clock: avoid using your mobiles as alarm clocks, even if you do so then put your mobiles in “airplane mode”. This will cut-off the radiations emitted by the cell phone thus avoiding sleep-disrupting cell phone radiations.
- ¨ Don’t use your mobiles while moving at high speeds: avoid using phones in cars, buses, trains, elevators etc. This is because the radiation increases as you move because the phone tries to connect to each nearby network antenna.
A final thought to the question:
People have been using cell phones since 90’s and there is no definite proof that it cause cancer or it doesn’t. There is strong evidence that cell phones impair sleep and glucose metabolism that can increase the risk of cancer.
Since we are not 100% sure if cell phones have severe effects on human health it is always better to be on the safer side. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE, going with saying it is better to take simple steps to keep the mobile phones away from the body.