On the 1st June 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced at the end of an eight-day meeting in Lyon, France that “radio-frequency electromagnetic fields generated by wireless devices are "possibly carcinogenic to humans,". This was based on a study spanning the last decade.
The cell phone, which can be seen as one of the greatest inventions of the modern world has seen exponential growth globally. I don’t believe that studies like this will have any effect on this growth as people see cell phones as a necessity. People need definitive, cold, hard evidence that cellphones cause cancer before they change their buying patterns.
I have read many such articles over the years and as soon as such studies are published, the cell phone manufacturers refute the finding with studies of their own.
So who should we believe?
For my part, I would not like to be remembered by future generations as that part of humankind who jumped headfirst into a technology without properly understanding the effects, only to suffer the terrible consequences later.
I personally have become a little bit more wary and have changed some of my usual patterns such as removing my cellphone from my pocket (or anywhere near my body) at any opportunity even though it might be seen as pretentious. I am considering purchasing a standard wired earpiece because the Bluetooth enabled headsets still generate radio waves close to your brain. Until then I am using my speakerphone feature more often.
Even though no causal link between cancer and cellphone usage has been established, there is just too much uncertainty and until then I would much prefer to err on the side of caution.
On another note, I was alarmed to hear that since August 2010, any organization can erect a telecommunications mast next door to you without a resident having any option to object. This is due to government departments passing the buck as to who is responsible for monitoring this activity. There have been many cases in the media of residents, who stay close to these masts, suffering the resultant ill-effects. Let’s hope that this issue is sorted out very soon.