Earpieces, but not ear shields, can minimize possible cancer risks from cell phones

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Earpieces, but not ear shields, can minimize possible cancer risks from cell phones

Over the last 24 hours, experts have been coming out of the woodwork giving advice based upon the warning that microwave radiation from cell phones could possibly cause cancer (is a carcinogen).
People are always asking me, “Can using a cellphone increase the risk of cancer?” As I say in another blog I’ve posted today, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that it might.
After a group of scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, analyzed peer-reviewed studies on cellphones, the team announced that there was enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
So, what can you do to reduce this POSSIBLE risk? Here are some tips from HealthDay News:

  • Commonsense would tell you that since a cellphone is a microwave generator and emits radiation, it has the potential to alter DNA. And it should be used in moderation.
  • To be on the safe side, (experts recommend) not speaking for long periods with the phone held to the ear.
  • In addition, (they suggest) using an earpiece or speaker whenever possible.
  • Both will keep the phone away from your head.

You can view my 6 bottom line tips here.
If you use any of these methods, then any risk of brain tumor formation from the phone will be either essentially eliminated or dramatically reduced.
Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, added: “Given that the evidence remains uncertain, it is up to each individual to determine what changes they wish to make, if any, after weighing the potential benefits and risks of using a cellphone.”
The FCC noted that earpieces will indeed “significantly reduce the rate of energy absorption” in a user’s head, but that if the phone is attached to the waist or another part of the body, “then that part of the body will absorb [radiofrequency] energy.”
Besides ear pieces, there are other devices (such as metal cellphone shields) that claim to protect users from cellphone radiation or reduce it, but the FCC is skeptical of them.
“Studies have shown that these devices generally do not work as advertised,” an FCC official statement cautioned. “In fact, they may actually increase radio frequency absorption in the head due to their potential to interfere with proper operation of the phone, thus forcing it to increase power to compensate,” the agency stated.
Another expert, Dr. Roberto Heros, a professor of neurological surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has a different take on cellphone safety … “If you really want to save lives, then don’t use the cellphone while you’re driving,” Heros said. “Not because of brain cancer, but because of immediate death from an accident.”
For more information on cell phone safety, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration information page here.

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