Dec. 7, 2006

A newly released American-Danish epidemiology study concludes that mobile phones do not pose a health risk to its users.

The report is expected to further fuel controversy in a scientific community divided over the issue, and also comes at a critical time when key rulings are pending in health litigation against the wireless industry.

“Overall, we found no evidence for an association between brain tumor risk and mobile phone usage among either short-term or long-term users,” researchers stated.

Meanwhile, the scientists still urged caution regarding their findings. “Because there are so few, if any, nationwide cohort studies of cellular telephone use, continued follow-up of this study is important and should be coupled with improved methods of assessing cell phone use.”

The survey, which tracked 420,095 Danish individuals that used mobile phone service between 11 and 21 years, is detailed in the December issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Other studies have claimed adverse biological effects from mobile phones. No cancer lawsuits against the wireless industry have yet succeeded, and challenges to the human radiation exposure standard of the Federal Communications Commission have since been upheld by the courts.

Nonetheless, the cellular industry continues to face a range of lawsuits on the topic of brain cancer and its so-called link to mobile phones.

Source: RCR News