It was a time when we were savoring the accomplishment of getting a smart phone.The hype created by them was so enormous that everybody wanted to get their hands on them. Parents were badgered by their kids, promises, of high grades in future and repaying their parents once they started earning, were made. Some swore they would use them sorely for “educational purposes”.
That was the scenario when a report was published about cell phones causing cancer.
It sent shock waves all over the world. Though we had people preaching about the evil side of cell phones for years, we were having too much fun to acknowledge them before.
But after this report people resigned to accepting that they were indeed paving way for unwanted trouble if we may put it lightly. Alarming reports said that children were more vulnerable to diseases caused by cell phones than adults.
A European study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute focused on the effects of cellphones on children and adolescents, because it was suggested they “might be more vulnerable to possible health effects from mobile phone exposure than adults,” according to the study abstract.
That study involved 1,000 participants, comparing cellphone usage of a group diagnosed with brain tumors against a control group of cellphone-using individuals who were in good health.
The lead author of the study, “A large and immediate risk of cellphones causing brain tumors in children can be excluded.” The conclusion of the study: “The absence of an exposure-response relationship either in terms of the amount of mobile phone use or by localization of the brain tumor argues against a causal association.”
This is the latest in a long line of studies aimed at finding the truth about whether cellphones cause cancer or not. Here are the three most recent studies:
• The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced the results of its cellphones/cancer study in May of this year, calling cellphones “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
• A study published in February found that cellphone use caused increased activity in certain parts of the brain, but couldn’t determine if those effects were causing any harm, or even if they were beneficial.
• Last year, a less-credible study that was partially funded by the wireless industry found no evidence of increased risk of brain tumors associated with mobile phones.
Though the recent report may cause people to sigh in relief, prolonged physical contact with cell phones should not be encouraged. It is always advisable to control the increasing dependency on gadgets which may be a source of unrest, both physically and mentally.