Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'

By Geoffrey Lean
Sunday, 30 March 2008

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.

It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.

Earlier this year, the French government warned against the use of mobile phones, especially by children. Germany also advises its people to minimise handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced.

Professor Khurana – a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, has published more than three dozen scientific papers – reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has put the results on a brain surgery website, and a paper based on the research is currently being peer-reviewed for publication in a scientific journal.

He admits that mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours". He believes this will be "definitively proven" in the next decade.

Noting that malignant brain tumours represent "a life-ending diagnosis", he adds: "We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation." He fears that "unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps", the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically.

"It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking," says Professor Khurana, who told the IoS his assessment is partly based on the fact that three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents.

Late last week, the Mobile Operators Association dismissed Khurana's study as "a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual". It believes he "does not present a balanced analysis" of the published science, and "reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews".
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There you have it. An African adage says that A wise man hears and gets wiser. Think deeply and seriously about this. We do not think that anyone should wait for another decade when it will be "definitely proven" that cellphones are deadly before applying common sense. What can we do here? Use cell phones only in emergencies and for brief moments. Make the days of long conversations on cell phones a thing of the past. Resort to texting rather than talking on the cellphone. If your phone has speakers, you should use that feature more often if you cannot compromise privacy. If you have the option, use phones with landlines instead of cellular or mobile phones. Oh, there is one more point and this one is even more urgent. Whether you put your phone on speaker or not, please do NOT use your phone while driving. You may think that you have it together and that you can handle it, but you do not want to find out how wrong you are. Above all, pray that God Almighty will give you the wisdom to do the right thing.

"AMEN" thanks for D advise!!!¡¡¡!!!¡¡¡!!!¡¡¡!!!¡¡¡!!

"AMEN" thanks for D advise bro !!!¡¡¡!!!¡¡¡!!!¡¡¡!!!¡¡¡!!

Thats nothing to compare to the petrol explosion which happened some where in lagos last year cant remember the area and location of the fuel station. i read it in City People it was said that it was during fuel scarcity and a lady received a call igniting the fuel which is been sold. Of cause fuel most have been in the air and buses and motorcycles,cars engines were running the fire roasted people in the explosion it was horrible to see people burn alive still sitting men it was bad!

na only god dey protect

Cj its not god it is God.

I'm tired of dispelling this urban myth.
There is no record anywhere in the world where a cell phone has caused ignition of fuel vapour at a filling station. It has NEVER occurred,a nd scientists concur that the risk is practically non-existent.

Read ALL these links. it's about time these lies were dispelled

http://truthandmyth..com/2006/03/facts-about-cell-phones-and-fires-at.html

http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp


if you really want to avoid any chance of gas station explosion, ward against static discharges

people are at much greater risk in causing an electrical spark through what is known as the triboelectric effect. This occurs when two different insulators, like skin and the polyester in a car seat, rub against each other, allowing electrons to flow from the skin into the polyester. A static electrical charge is thus created by the insulators and not from using a cell phone, Osterloh explained. Upon touching a conductive surface, such as a metal, the charge is released in the form of a spark, which could potentially ignite gasoline vapours.

Static electricity usually requires dry conditions, and, therefore, is more of a problem in the winter because cold air is usually less humid.

He suggested that one can reduce the risk of uncontrolled electrical discharges by touching another metal surface before handling sensitive equipment such as a fuel nozzle. Touching the metal would discharge the person and prevent further electrical sparks that could ignite the gasoline

Infoseye:

Thats nothing to compare to the petrol explosion which happened some where in lagos last year can't remember the area and location of the fuel station. i read it in City People it was said that it was during fuel scarcity and a lady received a call igniting the fuel which is been sold. Of cause fuel most have been in the air and buses and motorcycles,cars engines were running the fire roasted people in the explosion it was horrible to see people burn alive still sitting men it was bad!

This is how lies start. First you heard/read about a petrol explosion in an area orlocation u cannot remember. Now you're describing the incident as if you were there.

horrible to see, eh?