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Mobile Phone Cancer Link 'Overblown': Aussie Experts

There is no substantial evidence that mobile phones cause cancer, say Australian experts.

by Thilaka Ravi on June 16, 2011 at 8:53 AM

There is no substantial evidence that mobile phones cause cancer, say Australian experts.

According to them, there is no proof that mobile phones are any more carcinogenic than coffee or pickled vegetables, which are listed in WHO's list of things that could cause cancer.


The experts have also warned that Australians should be cautious of any mobile phone 'gimmicks' promising to reduce radiation exposure, saying that mobile phone cancer links have been 'overblown'.

They were referring to the 'CellSafe' product, which promises to deflect up to 74pc of mobile radiation.

The experts unanimously agreed that the non-ionising radiation given off by mobile phones is too weak to damage human health.

According to University of Wollongong Professor Rodney Croft, people should be cautious about 'a number of gimmicks' purporting to reduce mobile phone radiation risks.

He said that the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) did not say that there was a link between mobile use and cancer, but rather that they were unable to rule it out because of insufficient data at present.

"No such harmful area has been located," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Croft as saying.

"The phone already emits at a level many, many times lower than has been shown to cause any health effect. Thus a reduction of even 70 pc is quite trivial," he added.

However, Neurosurgeon Charlie Teo stands by WHO's report, saying that it should be a 'wake up call' alerting people to the links between mobiles and cancer.

"There is an increasing body of evidence that there is an association between brain tumours and mobile phones," said Teo.

Source: ANI

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