Have you seen the YouTube video with the cell phones popping popcorn? (Or subsequent videos that appear to repeat the experiment?) What seemed like a viral, grassroots phenomenon in culinary cell phone experimentation was quickly debunked and turned out to be a marketing campaign by the makers of Bluetooth headsets. But it got me thinking: Where are we on assessing the health risks of cell phones?
The New York Times health blogger Tara Parker-Pope recently revisited the issue and found Dr. Vini Khurana, an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University and author of a study that linked cell phone use to brain cancer. Dr. Khurana is so concerned about what he’s found that he will only use his own phone in speaker mode. CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, MD, is also worried enough to use a hands-free headset apparently. But even though these docs are being cautious, there still is no real consensus on the risk.
The jury is also out on whether having a cell phone tower in your neighborhood is hazardous to your health. Federal law says you can’t use health as a reason not to put up a tower, but some communities are so worried about them that they are going straight to local landlords and neighborhood community boards to keep them out of their neighborhoods.
OK, so it’s a relief to discover that cell phones can’t pop popcorn. That makes me feel a little bit safer, but what if they do pose other health risks? I can’t help wondering if it might be best to play it safe and do like the docs. What do you think?
Comments (3)
I’m of the belief, based on reading many studies (mostly all European), that cell phones will be the next generation’s cigarettes. The best thing we should all do with the phones is just use them for emergency purposes (or the occasional query for directions or order for pizza) instead of chatting for hours about nothing while we cook our brains.
Moderation in all things… especially cell phones.
I agree with Mike. I have a cell phone but I only use it for emergencies. I won’t give in to people pleading with me to turn it on.
The electromagnetic fields can’t be good for our bodies.
It’s a fact that there is electromagnetic radiation coming out of cell phones, it’s only logical that it being merely an inch or so from your brain, that there would be negative health affects…. I talk on speaker as often as I can. Just to play it safe