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Mobile Phones Tumor Risk To Young Children ...
Mobile phones are one of the most popular gifts for children this year but it is recommended that children under the age of eight should not use mobile phones due to possible tumor risks
According to Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), the evidence of potentially harmful effects have become more persuasive over the past five years.
The news release had an immediate effect with calls for phones to carry health warnings and it also called a stir within the industry – one British manufacturer immediately suspended a model that had been aimed at for the eight year olds.
The number of mobiles in Britain has doubled to 50 million since the first government-sponsored report in 2000. The number of children aged between five and nine using mobiles has increased fivefold in the same period.
In his study, Mobile Phones and Health, Sir William said that four studies have caused concern. One ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy mobile users are more prone to non-malignant tumours in the ear and brain while a Dutch study had suggested changes in cognitive function. A German study has hinted at an increase in cancer around base stations, while a project supported by the EU had shown evidence of cell damage from fields typical of those of mobile phones.
Sir William said: “All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Our view is that if there is a health risk, even though it is unproven then it is better to be safe than sorry.
In a follow up to Sir Williams report David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, called for a ban on mobiles in schools.
Mobile phone companies reacted quickly, saying that the report fanned public concern without presenting new research. The youth market is highly lucrative because teenagers are more likely to use video downloads and other services.
We are also awaiting a report from The World Health Organisation who are preparing to publish an international report, drawing on hundreds of studies conducted over a decade, which many hope will give a definitive judgment on mobile phone safety.Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”
One school in the North East has begun using mobile scanners to prevent pupils using mobiles in class. “Outside college hours it is up to parents, but in our care if mobiles are found on children, they are confiscated and returned to the parents,” David Riden, vice principal of Tollbar Business and Enterprise College in New Waltham, said.
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