Mobile phones may not affect your health

Posted 28/04/2012

The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) has reported that there is still no evidence that mobile phone use harms human health. Scientists have looked at numerous studies of mobile exposure and found no conclusive links to cancer risk, brain function or infertility. This is the biggest review of the evidence surrounding the safety of mobile phones.

However, it should be noted that monitoring should continue because little is known about the long term effects because the majority of the population only started using mobile phones in the late 1990s. The HPA still recommends that young children should avoid excessive use of mobiles.

There are now an estimated 80million mobiles in the UK and because of television and radio broadcasting, Wi-Fi and other technological developments the study has said that exposure to low level radio frequency fields is almost universal and continuous.

The HPA have looked at the significant research into the effect of low level radio frequency. They have concluded that people who were not exposed above UK guideline levels did not experience any detectable symptoms. This included people who reported sensitive to radio frequency.

They also said there is no evidence that exposure caused brain tumours, other types of cancer, or harm to fertility or cardiovascular health.

Professor Anthony Swerdlow who chaired the review said “It is important to continue monitoring research. Even though it is relatively reassuring I also think it is important that we keep an eye on the rates of brain tumours and other cancers. One cannot know what the long term consequences are of something that has been around for only a short period”.

Julie Crossley, Clinical Negligence lawyer at Ashtons Legal, comments: “Most people nowadays have a mobile phone and their use is increasing with access to the internet, games and media. It is reassuring to see that the current view is that they do not appear to pose any health risks but clearly the long term effects are unknown and it is important that this research continues.”