Dr. Mercola August 09 2008 122,702 views
Toronto's department of public health has advised teenagers and young children to limit their use of cell phones, in order to avoid potential health risks. The advisory is the first of its kind in Canada.
Officials have warned that because of possible side effects from radio frequency radiation, children under eight should only use a cell phone in emergencies, and teenagers should limit calls to less than 10 minutes.
For many years, most government health agencies were dismissive of any risk. But with more studies, a pattern is emerging that suggests people who have used their cell phones for a long period of time are at greater risk of certain kinds of brain tumors.
I believe the tide is about to change folks, as the truth of any situation can rarely remain hidden forever. Sooner or later, the ramifications of our errors become self evident, just like the true dangers of smoking could not be ignored past a certain point.
Those “in the know” in the medical professions -- after mountains of evidence have rendered it inarguable -- are finally becoming aware that the dangers of cell phones are indeed real, and they’re beginning to speak out in larger numbers.
This is often the first step to such knowledge becoming common in the general population.
The truth is, we are on the verge of a brain cancer epidemic. It could grow to 500,000 cases worldwide as soon as 2010, and there may be over a million cases in the U.S. alone by 2015.
Even if you manage to avoid brain cancer, there are risks ranging from headaches and dizziness to Alzheimer’s disease to impotence.
It will take a while for this to become mainstream news, of course. First, the information has to clear the multiple hurdles put in place by the corporate propaganda machines. Just as happened for decades with cigarettes, they will try to hide the truth, using any means available. The telecommunications industry is massive, with combined revenues of more than $869 billion in 2007, and it will do its best to spread misdirection, spin, and outright lies.
Additionally, government agencies that are, in theory there to protect you, have entered into mutually profitable “partnerships” with the very businesses they are supposed to regulate, meaning there is very little real regulation going on.
In 2007 alone, the telecommunications industry spent almost $250 million on political lobbying. Over the past decade, they have spent a grand total of nearly $2.4 billion. Of course, that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to their profits.
The Pattern is Emerging – Pay Attention!
While years ago scientists were dismissive of any risks associated with cell phone use, the accumulated amounts of studies showing health risks for long-term users now paint an entirely different picture. In addition to the Toronto Department of Health advisory, the U.K., Belgium, Germany, France and Russia have already introduced precautionary policies regarding cell phone usage due to potential health risks.
For example, one Swedish review of 11 studies found that using your cell phone for 10 years or longer will double your risk of getting a tumor on a nerve connecting your ear to your brain (acoustic neuroma). And because children have thinner skulls than adults, and their nervous systems are still developing, children are particularly vulnerable to this type of tumor and should not use cell phones at all.Professor Mild, lead researcher of that particular study, also cautioned that the danger may be even greater than what they found because cancers need a minimum of 10 years to develop. Since children today are using cell phones at an earlier age than any previous generation, their exposure will be far greater over their lifetimes.
Health Problems Bound to Erupt Due to Radio Wave Saturation
Information-carrying radio waves have increased dramatically and exponentially over the last few years. Just think: it took 20 years for the first 1 billion cell phones to be sold -- a milestone reached in 2004. The next billion took just 18 months. The third billion was sold even faster -- just nine months, and we will reach the fourth billion by the end of this year.
Add to that all the wireless networks that are now becoming standard, exposing you to massive amounts of radio waves whether you actually use wireless or not. Most major office buildings now have WiFi, as do Starbuck’s, Panera Bread, and most libraries. The biological danger from WiFi routers, cell phones and land-based portable phones comes from two sources:
The modulated information-carrying radio waves resonate in biological frequencies of a few to a few hundred cycles per second, and can stimulate your vibrational cellular receptors, causing a whole cascade of pathological consequences that can culminate in fatigue, anxiety, and ultimately cancers.
And the carrier wave has been found to create damage NOT related to thermal heat damage, which the industry has long argued is the only possible cause of biological harm (i.e. “radio waves do not create enough thermal heat to pose a risk to biological tissue.”) Therefore, simply lowering the SAR rating on cell phones -- which determines how much radiation your body absorbs -- or making sure your phone is within legal SAR limits, has virtually nothing to do with guaranteeing your safety.
Your cells will interpret even a minute amount of cell phone radiation as a threat, and will shut down many vital processes. This is a response intended to protect them, but when you talk on a cell phone, it lasts for far longer than your body can handle.
A lot of the damage is caused by the disruption of microtubular connections that allow biophotons to communicate between cells, which decreases intracellular communication. Increased deposits of heavy metals also begin to accumulate in your cells, which increases intracelluar production of free radicals, and can radically decrease cellular production of energy, thus making you incredibly fatigued.
Once your body’s microtubular communication system is damaged, it is very easy to develop all sorts of pathologies related to disrupted intracellular antioxidant systems and heavy metal toxicities.
The INTERPHONE Study – the Report Everyone’s Waiting For
As recently reported in Microwave News, the results from the largest cell phone study to date are being eagerly awaited by both industry and governments worldwide. The INTERPHONE Project -- a 13-country epidemiological study of tumors among users of mobile phones – is already lagging three years behind its scheduled completion date.
Part of the delay in putting together the final report now appears to be internal strife, as scientists are joining opposing camps of “safe” vs. “unsafe.”
The GSM Association, a global trade organization of mobile operators, and the forum, which includes Nokia and about a dozen other manufacturers, contributed more than $3.5 million to the $15-plus million project. The European Commission also helped fund it with contributions passed through the International Union Against Cancer in an effort to create a barrier between the mobile phone industry and the scientists.
The outcome of this particular study may be more vital than most people realize, as institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission have cautioned that conclusions about possible cancer risks cannot be drawn until the INTERPHONE study is published. If the wrong conclusions are drawn from these studies, the resulting lack of public warnings could have disastrous consequences for the generations to come.
However, so far, studies confirming health risks associated with cell phone use, released by participating countries, include:
The BioInitiative Report
Others, in the meantime, are tired of waiting and have taken other initiatives to educate the general public. The BioInitiative Report, published August 31, 2007, was created by an international working group of scientists, researchers and public health policy professionals.
They document serious scientific concerns about the current limits regulating how much EMF is allowable from power lines, cell phones, and many other sources of EMF exposure in daily life, concluding that the existing standards for public safety are completely inadequate to protect your health.
Their report also includes studies showing evidence for:
Protect Yourself from the Invisible Danger of EMR
Some individuals believe that relatively expensive fixes like nano polymers (like those used by BioPro) might help, but my initial investigation strongly suggests that this technology protection is only minimally effective, and dissipates rapidly.
Of course, the only real solution is to move our culture away from wireless back to more wired. As for myself, I completely renovated my new home prior to moving in earlier this year, and part of the project was to put in wired CAT-5 cables so I have no wireless connections at all. We have also recently moved into a brand new 25,000 square foot office building where we have no wireless anywhere in the building.
I’ve also learned that most portable home phones are a major source of these information carrying radio waves.
The only exception would be the much older, essentially antiquated 900 MHz portable phones. Fortunately they are still readily available online. One of the major differences is that they are only on when in use. The other higher MHz phones are on continuously, bombarding your cells with tissue damaging radiation even when you’re not using them. If you do choose to use a cell phone, use the speakerphone function whenever possible -- and keep the phone about two feet away from any body part. Do not keep the phone on your belt or in your pocket even when you’re not using it, as the radiation WILL penetrate your body wherever the phone is attached. Instead, stow it away in a purse, backpack, or your car’s glove compartment.For times when a speakerphone isn’t practical, use an air-tube headset, rather than a wireless Bluetooth.
Also, keep an eye on the signal bars on your cell phone, which tell you how strong your connecting signal is. The closer you are to a cell phone tower, the stronger your signal, and the less power your phone has to use to maintain the connection.
A strong signal is indicated by a full set of "bars" showing on your cell phone display. Fewer bars mean a weaker signal.
As in the Israeli study mentioned above, frequent use of your cell phone when you have a weak signal carries greater risk as the amount of radiation produced by your phone is higher, which increases your exposure. Talking outdoors or in open spaces can often allow for a better connection from your cell phone to your nearest cell phone tower.
The exception to that rule is if you live in a rural area where the nearest tower is some distance away, in which case you’re constantly exposed to greater amounts of radiation from your cell phone than city and urban users and would be best advised to use a landline whenever feasible.
LOL! Welcome to the club! Someone has to be the first to say "the Emperor has no clothes" or "the world is round" or "cell phones can harm your health." The first to say it gets mocked or worse. But you make it easier for someone else to notice the problem and speak up. They might see a report in a magazine, and instead of turning to something else, they take notice this time. Eventually, it will no longer be crazy to speak about it. But someone had to be the initial crazy. And everyone will likely forget it was you who brought it up, but you will have made a big difference to many people. (God notices this.)
Yes, they think I'm off my rocker also but if I didn't say anything and let it go by I would feel awful. My husband and I bought the airtube headset that Mercola recommends and sells on his website. I rarely if ever use cellphones up around my head and if I do it's only for minutes at a time. Lately, I've been hounding my daughter who recently decided to start using the speakerphone feature. I don't want brain cancer and I don't want anyone that I know or care about to get it either.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win
A quote from Gandhi.
None of these findings are any surprise to me. I quickly discovered that any cell phone held to my ear in a call, no matter how briefly, would instantly give me a headache. I knew that if they could do that to me, they had to be bad for everyone. I found that the only way to avoid this was to use them only on speakerphone mode. When I bought my first cell phone two years ago I tried it out first to make sure it had a speaker I could hear well enough on that I never had to hold it to my ear, and I never have.
Ok, I wish I could just switch off my WIFI internet and have all direct connections on my computers. I wish I could use the 'old time' phone from the 70's. I wish I could never ever use a cell phone again. The list goes on and on. I do use the speaker phone on my cell phone almost always and keep the phone away from me when not in us. So, I can do that. But, for the other changes, it will not happen. So, what do we do, go back into the dark ages? I know it may be causing health problems. This is very worrisome to anyone that is aware of this. But, we also need to realize that the water we drink causes cancer and other health issues. The food we eat has pesticides and can cause cancer and other health issues. Same goes for smoking cigarettes and for the air we breathe! None of it is good, right? We could get in our car tomorrow and get killed in a car accident or have a heart attack which neither has anything to do with cell phones, pesticides, the air, or cigarettes. So, I think we just need to live the best we can and that's all we can do. When it's our time to go it's our time to go. We cannot control fate but just do the best we can. But, worrying about all these issues will add to stress in our lives that can also cause health problems. My dad lived to 90 years old and smoked cigarettes (chain smoker) for 65 years! Am I advising others to do this? No way! But, it just proves that we cannot control fate.....
*To edit a line in my previous post: "We could get in our car tomorrow and get killed in a car accident or have a heart attack which neither has anything to do with cell phones, pesticides, the air, or cigarettes."*
*I do know that smoking cigarettes can play a part in heart attacks.*
Actually, Ann1122, you CAN do all those things you mention. I have no cell phone. I bought a brand new wired phone (non-portable) with a build in answering machine just a couple months ago. They still make them you know. I have multiple cable jacks in my house, but it's better to restrict the computer to a single, common room of the house anyway. Your less likely to use it constantly if you don't have access in every single room (and my occupation is database programmer, and I do work from home often).
But you are correct about not worrying or stressing about these things. Like, for instance, I don't worry or stress that my son had no cell phone and that as he gets older I may not know where he is or what he is doing every moment of the day (much like it was when I was growing up). I also don't stress about things I can't control, like other peoples use of wireless and cellphones. But since I CAN control my own choices, I do. That reduces my stress more than anything else.
Also, there is no need for us to return to the stone ages. Humans are very clever creatures, and I have no doubt that alternatives can be found to current wireless technologies. It's just that no one is looking at the moment because they are not aware of, or accepting of, the obvious dangers of the current technology.
"All truth passes through three stages. First it is ignored, then it is violently opposed and finally it is accepted as self evident." – German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788 – 1860
It was like that back then and it's still like that now.
ann1122, it's not about literally worrying ourselves sick, which as you alluded to is actually possible. It's about making informed choices, intelligently dealing with the various consequences of unbridled commercialism in a virtual regulatory void. It's about dodging the slow-moving bullets that we CAN see coming. It's about picking one's way carefully through a minefield of other people's making, instead of dancing blindly through, taking the attitude that we all have to die someday from something so what the hell, why should we care how. (Newsflash: Mines don't kill you, they just rip one leg off.) It's about aiming for a long, happy, healthy life, as opposed to fatalistically accepting sickness & premature death caused by reckless hazard-mongering by unscrupulous even ruthless profiteers. It's about not crossing the street without looking both ways first, something we teach our children to do. It's about not living our last few weeks or months in agony, with tubes coming out of every orifice while we lay immobile, unable to speak, eat or drink, while one machine beep-beep-beeps incessantly and another hisses & sucks while mechanically breathing for us.
In many parts of the country, maybe most, the last line in the great majority of newspaper Engagement Announcements reads, "The bride is also the daughter of the late Mr. [insert bride's last name]." Twenty-something daughters of men who were once twenty-something new fathers. This SHOULD worry someone...
Especially since "[man's] days shall be an hundred and twenty years" (Gen. 6:3)
and way too many of us aren't making it even halfway there (per above); we even think reaching only two-thirds our natural life expectancy is doing pretty well.
MDG, thanks for taking out the time to respond to my comment. I know that it's possible to do all the things mentioned. But, not everyone has the money to have the cable company install more cable jacks in additional rooms or to be able to have all pc's in one room. It costs money and especially at this time with the economy the way it is people just don't have the funds to make these changes. If you are in the position to do this then that's great. As far as having one pc in one room, I have the need for more than one as we run a small business, and I have a son in college so he needs his own pc. It would, also, not be feasible for us all to be in one room bouncing off of one another as he does his school work and I work on my computer. Again, you may be in a different situation that makes it easier for you to accomplish this. The cord telephone is, also, not an option for us as we no longer even have a land line because of the cost. We now use an internet based phone as it is tons and tons cheaper per year. I wanted to keep my land line but I just couldn't with the business we run. We make many long distance calls per day not to mention personal calls on top of that and the land line was ridiculously high because of this. If you are in the position to do it all then you are very lucky. But, many people just don't have their homes set up in a close to perfect manner. And a cell phone is a necessity for us as we have to be available when we are on the road. You mentioned being a data programmer from home so the need for a cell phone may not be of a necessity to you. Many people are simply not in your position. So, although these issues mentioned certainly are 'possible', they are not probable for many people.
I wanted to be clear that I wish we could all be wifi free like it was when I was a child in the 70's. My parents had no cell phone (not available for the most part to the average person yet) and only had a land line phone. We didn't and noone we knew even owned a home computer yet back then. I wish it was that way again. Technology has brought us many things, some of which are very helpful but as we are finding out, also, very dangerous. It's like all the other issues we have as I mentioned like the food and water we drink being unhealthy and the air we breathe because of all the pollution! For the people that aren't aware of the cell phone dangers, yes, they all should be made aware of this. I think this information is being made aware of to more and more people now though. But, the fact still remains it is here. We have large wifi and cell phone towers all around us emitting radiation, (unless we are lucky enough to live in such a remote area where there are none for miles, yet even then you still may be exposed to radiation). We have no control over this at all. We can get rid of a cell phone and wifi out of our homes but we cannot remove these towers that are just as much if not more dangerous than the cell phones or the wireless internet in our homes. So, please don't misunderstand me. I'm in total agreement here about these dangers. I just choose to live the best I can and know that when it's a person's time to go it's their time to go. And, as S Ed Wright mentioned above, "and way too many of us aren't making it even halfway there", there are many others that are and way beyond that. One may live a 'perfect' life and die young. Another may live dangerously and get to 90. I've seen both so far. So, my question is: Is the cup half empty or half full? I happen to think it is half full! Bad things are on this earth and we cannot be rid of them completely EVER. Try to live healthy, be positive, and hope for the best.
I fall off my rocker when someone hands me a Cellphone and says "It's for you"
You know what I mean, most people think if it can be purchased, its been tested for safty. Same thing with food. Sorry! The #1 concern is keeping share holders happy.
landline versus cellphone......the cost, my landline plus internet plus one cellphone with minimum minuetes is about 95.00 a month, my sons cellphone with text messaging runs around 75.00 plus any overage cost...my neice ran up a 1,ooo dollar cellphone bill on texting alone....just examples that cellphones aren't always cheaper then the landline,like everything we buy, instead of believing what the companies tell us(since they all are out to make a buck),we should examine and compare cost etc......and about health issues,tad worrisome when the kids think they need to have them close by even when they're sleeping.
Uh, the unfortunate situation here in Japan is that if one does not have a cell phone, that is weird. This will eventually probably be the case in other countries too. However, it is another matter if you actually use the cell phone and how much. I only use mine for being notified about incoming e-mails and almost no talking on it at all. If I have to make a call, I use my fixed-line phone.
I also have a q-link pendant that helps in protection from the radiation damage. Bought q-links for my other family members and my cats too.
Good points about the dangers of cell phones are being made ... but again, the elephant in the living room is being IGNORED by most all. What do cell phones
need to have in order to operate? The signals. Where do they come from? Cellular towers / base stations. These are blasting ALL of us 24/7. There are at least 6 epidemiological studies (as outlined by Dr. Grahame Blackwell) showing clearly the many health dangers of cell towers. If cell phones did not require those towers to operate (i.e. if they operated on the principles of quantum physics and there were no harmful waves received or emitted so that bystanders would in no way be harmed) I would not be so concerned except for the distraction they cause the user which could lead to accidents. But as long as cell towers exist, the entire world and all life forms thereon are under an ominous and ever-growing threat of biological extinction. EVERYTHING, including TV and Radio broadcasts should be sent via fiber-optic cable and hardwired connection. Dr. Neil Cherry (now deceased) covered this well in his writings.
I have found when the world thinks you're crazy; you're not far from the truth.
Don't remember who said it, but, "A sane man in an insane world must surely seem insane." That's what we all face when we try to share what we've learned.
I have to say, I agree on this one even though I do a have a cell phone. My husband had to have a 3 inch cut in the small section right below his ear, to have skin cancer removed. I firmly believe it was caused from his constant use of his cell phone. But of course, ya can't get him to believe that.
My next concern is about my 18 year old daughter who is pregnant and is on her cell phone a LOT due to her husband being in the Marines. When they DO get the chance to talk, they are on there for hours when he is deployed! I tried to warn her of it, but it went through one ear and out the other. I'm thinking Mercola had an article about pregnant women using cell phones too and how it can effect the baby.