A new UC Berkeley research study draws a strong link between radiation emitted by cellphones and tumors, particularly in the brain.
Researchers took a comprehensive look at statistical findings from 46 different studies around the globe and found that the use of a cell phone for more than 1,000 hours, or about 17 minutes a day over a ten year period, increased the risk of tumors by 60 percent.
Researchers also pointed to findings that showed cell phone use for 10 or more years doubled the risk of brain tumors.
Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health with the UC Berkeley School of Public Health conducted the research in partnership with Korea’s National Cancer Center, and Seoul National University. Their analysis took a comprehensive look at statistical findings from case control studies from 16 countries including the U.S., Sweden, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand.
Health experts said cell phones should not be held in a pocket, bra, or belt holster, as a phone’s antenna tries to stay connected with a cell tower whenever it’s on, emitting radio frequency (RF) energy even when not in use.
When on a call, experts advised avoid holding the phone up to your head and instead use the speaker feature or a headset.
Experts also said you should reduce or avoid use of your phone when there’s only one or two bars displayed showing the strength of connectivity. “Cell phones put out more RF energy to connect with cell towers when the signal is weak,” health officials noted.
That’s also true when using a mobile device in a fast-moving car, bus, or train because the phone emits more RF energy to maintain connections to avoid dropping calls as it switches connections from cell tower to cell tower.
Ultimately, when it comes to cell phones, “distance is your friend,” Moskowitz said. “Keeping your cellphone 10 inches away from your body, as compared to one-tenth of an inch, results in a 10,000-fold reduction in exposure. So, keep your phone away from your head and body,” he advised.
MacDailyNews Take: This research received no external funding. The authors have declared no conflict of interest. The full study is here: Cellular Phone Use and Risk of Tumors: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Do not spend long amounts of time with any cellphone up against your head or body. Use the speaker function (like they often do on reality TV) or your AirPods (or AirPods wannabes), keeping the cellphone away from your head.
“Thank God, we here at MacDailyNews, hardly ever use our cellphones to make phone calls at all, much less have them pressed up against our skulls. In fact, we’ve probably taken less than 100 calls since iPhone was introduced in 2007 and we can’t remember the last cellphone call we had that lasted more than a couple of minutes. We almost always use our iPhones on Wi-Fi and for data (browsing, texting, mail, etc.), not voice over cellular — hopefully Wi-Fi is safe or we’re all in big trouble!”
SEE ALSO:
• Health officials: Cellphone radiation could increase risk for brain cancer and tumors, low sperm count, headaches, impaired memory, hearing, and sleep – December 15, 2017
• ‘Game-changing’ study links cellphone radiation to cancer – May 27, 2016
• Study claims cellphone radiation can cause cancer – July 31, 2015
• U.S. watchdog calls for regulators to review of cell phone radiation rules – August 8, 2012
• FCC’s Genachowski looks to open new inquiry into cellphone radiation emissions – June 16, 2012
• New research doubts link between cellphones and cancer – July 5, 2011