Michael Brewer asked:
Ten years and countless court battles ago, The World Health Organization (WHO) published a small, yet inconclusive study about how the radiation emitted from cell phones is bad for you.
Specifically, the WHO “suggested” a “possible” link between cell phone usage and brain tumors. The tentative language, no doubt, was influenced by the then-burgeoning cell phone industry — back when the Apple iPhone, the Motorola Droid and non-stock-broker Blackberry models were barely a sparkle in developers’ eyes.
Today we learn that the WHO’s decades-long study, called Interphone provides a clear and definite link between what they call, “heavy cell phone users” and an increased risk (between 10 and 30 percent) for brain tumors, as opposed to people who don’t use them. For those of you who wear your Bluetooth headsets all day, the WHO study suggests you might want to put them on a charger or something when you’re not on a call. There’s an elevated risk, although slightly smaller than placing your phone against your ear, that you could get a tumor too.
I have to ask rhetorically — who doesn’t use a cell phone today? Does this mean we’re truly in for a pandemic of brain tumors later on, like Swine Flu? What will this do to health insurance quotes? Will the carriers inflate them based on how many hours you use your mobile device? Too soon to tell, but further insurance reforms are likely coming as a result of this study.
I remember thinking back in the late 80s that the fat Motorola “brick” phone I lugged around at the time would get so hot against my ear, there had to be nuclear launch codes hidden up in there somewhere. Why else would they design it with that stiff, rubberized, missile-like antennae pointed confidently toward the heavens? But back then, microwave ovens were the size of college dorm refrigerators with an angry moan that dimmed your lights when you turned it on, and a spinning, silvery disk thing at the top that made your food hot on one side (no glass turntable, no evenly-heated dinner).
I figured if my mom used a radiation box to cook our peas and pop our popcorn, why worry about a phone that could transmit full conversations — in real-time — thousands of miles away without a wire?
Well, soon after Motorola launched the first-ever “pocket phone,” (it never really fit into your pocket unless you wore jeans that were three-sizes too big — Ah, but Motorola was before its time —That trend was years away), Motorola lawyered-up and filed suit in practically every jurisdiction around the country to keep us from applying for SuperFund stipends, crushing our new toys and sending them to Love Canal.
The full WHO study won’t be released until next month, but you can bet cell phone/smartphone makers are preparing their court motions at the moment.
So will you be powering down your mobile devices anytime soon? — Oh! Gotta go. My Blackbery
Willie
Ten years and countless court battles ago, The World Health Organization (WHO) published a small, yet inconclusive study about how the radiation emitted from cell phones is bad for you.
Specifically, the WHO “suggested” a “possible” link between cell phone usage and brain tumors. The tentative language, no doubt, was influenced by the then-burgeoning cell phone industry — back when the Apple iPhone, the Motorola Droid and non-stock-broker Blackberry models were barely a sparkle in developers’ eyes.
Today we learn that the WHO’s decades-long study, called Interphone provides a clear and definite link between what they call, “heavy cell phone users” and an increased risk (between 10 and 30 percent) for brain tumors, as opposed to people who don’t use them. For those of you who wear your Bluetooth headsets all day, the WHO study suggests you might want to put them on a charger or something when you’re not on a call. There’s an elevated risk, although slightly smaller than placing your phone against your ear, that you could get a tumor too.
I have to ask rhetorically — who doesn’t use a cell phone today? Does this mean we’re truly in for a pandemic of brain tumors later on, like Swine Flu? What will this do to health insurance quotes? Will the carriers inflate them based on how many hours you use your mobile device? Too soon to tell, but further insurance reforms are likely coming as a result of this study.
I remember thinking back in the late 80s that the fat Motorola “brick” phone I lugged around at the time would get so hot against my ear, there had to be nuclear launch codes hidden up in there somewhere. Why else would they design it with that stiff, rubberized, missile-like antennae pointed confidently toward the heavens? But back then, microwave ovens were the size of college dorm refrigerators with an angry moan that dimmed your lights when you turned it on, and a spinning, silvery disk thing at the top that made your food hot on one side (no glass turntable, no evenly-heated dinner).
I figured if my mom used a radiation box to cook our peas and pop our popcorn, why worry about a phone that could transmit full conversations — in real-time — thousands of miles away without a wire?
Well, soon after Motorola launched the first-ever “pocket phone,” (it never really fit into your pocket unless you wore jeans that were three-sizes too big — Ah, but Motorola was before its time —That trend was years away), Motorola lawyered-up and filed suit in practically every jurisdiction around the country to keep us from applying for SuperFund stipends, crushing our new toys and sending them to Love Canal.
The full WHO study won’t be released until next month, but you can bet cell phone/smartphone makers are preparing their court motions at the moment.
So will you be powering down your mobile devices anytime soon? — Oh! Gotta go. My Blackbery
Willie
