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DIAL M FOR MALADIES
Central Indictment Of Cell Phones Pleases Experts
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Your cell phone could be providing more than just a ticket to easy communication. It could be giving you a mild headache or a persistent buzz in your ears. It has the power to increase your stress hormones and affect your sleep patterns.
As reported by TOI on Thursday, a Central government committee has held that radiation from mobile phones and their towers are a definite health hazard. It also blamed the radiation for the dwindling number of bees, sparrows and insects.
The committee’s verdict is a vindication of many city-based experts who have been relentlessly calling attention to the illeffects of the cell phone.
“For years we have been saying that mobiles have a way of affecting your health. Be it your endocrine system that generates hormones or heart rhythms, mobile radiation have a way of interfering,” says endocrinologist Dr Shashank Joshi.
Joshi says that mobile phones should be treated as an emergency tool that one picks up only when in need. “It is most distressing to see people under 18 hanging on to mobile phones. It affects their system much more than adults.” Joshi had published one of the most comprehensive reviews on mobile phone radiation in JAPI, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the Association of Physicians of India.
Members of the Mobile Tower Grievance Forum, a group of citizens who believe that mobiles cause cancer, are most happy. “The report has said exactly what we have been saying for long. Cell phones and their towers are harmful to health,” said the forum’s Milind Bembalkar.
Abroad, there are radiation values given on every cell phone set. “But in India, we do not follow such practice. Also, the radiation from the towers here is ten times more than what it is in European counties (as compared to 0.001 watt/sq mt there, we have 10 watt/sq mt in India). This is done so that they don’t have to build up more towers. But that invariably happens, as there are so many companies in the market,” Bembalkar added.
The group now wants to meet officials of the Maharashtra government to ensure that the state, like many other Indian states, draws up rules and guidelines.
The cell phone industry has repeatedly said that long-term studies from across the world have not shown any significant link between people’s health and mobile radiation. However, a recent paper by British telecom officials said that precautionary principle is best given the lack of scientific data. So, as Joshi says, “Reduce your talk time. You can either SMS or use your smart phone to send an email. Digital phones emit less radiation than analogue ones.”
WRONG NUMBERS
THE ILL-EFFECTS OF RADIATION FROM MOBILE PHONES AND TOWERS ARE USUALLY CLASSIFIED AS THERMAL AND NON-THERMAL
Thermal Effects
Exposure to very high radio frequency power densities (100 mW/cm2 or more) can heat biological tissue and increase body temperature
General eye irritation and cataracts were reported in workers exposed to high levels of radio frequency and microwave radiation, but there is no evidence in general public
Non-Thermal Effects
Neurological
Predominant one-sided usage, high daily usage and exposure for a large duration of time (usually more than 10 years) have been found in some studies to raise the risk of brain tumours
Psychiatric
Psychiatrists report increasing incidence of ringtone anxiety in which users imagine their phone to be ringing or feel it vibrating
Cardiovascular
Mobiles can cause electromagnetic interference in the working of implanted pacemakers
Endocrine
A French group studied the influence of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM-900 cellular telephones on steroid and pituitary hormone levels in healthy males and discovered drops
Reproductive
Rats subjected to mobile radiation were found to have damaged DNA and low sperm count
Miscellaneous
A study said that prolonged use of a cell phone leads to inactivity and is associated with an increased risk of obesity
(Source: Journal Of Association Of Physicians Of India)
SCREENED OUT
DOCTORS ADVISE A NUMBER OF PRECAUTIONS TO REDUCE THE EXPOSURE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY FROM CELL PHONES
Limit the use to essential calls and keep them short, particularly in rural areas. Or, simply, text
Allow children to use a cell phone only in cases of emergency. Since their skulls are developing, radiation can penetrate deeper than in adults
Do not make a call when the signal strength is at one bar or less. It essentially means the phone must work harder to establish a connection
Buy a phone with a low specific absorption rate (SAR), which is a way to measure the quantity of RF energy that is absorbed by the body
DIAL M FOR MALADIES
Central Indictment Of Cell Phones Pleases Experts
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: Your cell phone could be providing more than just a ticket to easy communication. It could be giving you a mild headache or a persistent buzz in your ears. It has the power to increase your stress hormones and affect your sleep patterns.
As reported by TOI on Thursday, a Central government committee has held that radiation from mobile phones and their towers are a definite health hazard. It also blamed the radiation for the dwindling number of bees, sparrows and insects.
The committee’s verdict is a vindication of many city-based experts who have been relentlessly calling attention to the illeffects of the cell phone.
“For years we have been saying that mobiles have a way of affecting your health. Be it your endocrine system that generates hormones or heart rhythms, mobile radiation have a way of interfering,” says endocrinologist Dr Shashank Joshi.
Joshi says that mobile phones should be treated as an emergency tool that one picks up only when in need. “It is most distressing to see people under 18 hanging on to mobile phones. It affects their system much more than adults.” Joshi had published one of the most comprehensive reviews on mobile phone radiation in JAPI, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the Association of Physicians of India.
Members of the Mobile Tower Grievance Forum, a group of citizens who believe that mobiles cause cancer, are most happy. “The report has said exactly what we have been saying for long. Cell phones and their towers are harmful to health,” said the forum’s Milind Bembalkar.
Abroad, there are radiation values given on every cell phone set. “But in India, we do not follow such practice. Also, the radiation from the towers here is ten times more than what it is in European counties (as compared to 0.001 watt/sq mt there, we have 10 watt/sq mt in India). This is done so that they don’t have to build up more towers. But that invariably happens, as there are so many companies in the market,” Bembalkar added.
The group now wants to meet officials of the Maharashtra government to ensure that the state, like many other Indian states, draws up rules and guidelines.
The cell phone industry has repeatedly said that long-term studies from across the world have not shown any significant link between people’s health and mobile radiation. However, a recent paper by British telecom officials said that precautionary principle is best given the lack of scientific data. So, as Joshi says, “Reduce your talk time. You can either SMS or use your smart phone to send an email. Digital phones emit less radiation than analogue ones.”
WRONG NUMBERS
THE ILL-EFFECTS OF RADIATION FROM MOBILE PHONES AND TOWERS ARE USUALLY CLASSIFIED AS THERMAL AND NON-THERMAL
Thermal Effects
Exposure to very high radio frequency power densities (100 mW/cm2 or more) can heat biological tissue and increase body temperature
General eye irritation and cataracts were reported in workers exposed to high levels of radio frequency and microwave radiation, but there is no evidence in general public
Non-Thermal Effects
Neurological
Predominant one-sided usage, high daily usage and exposure for a large duration of time (usually more than 10 years) have been found in some studies to raise the risk of brain tumours
Psychiatric
Psychiatrists report increasing incidence of ringtone anxiety in which users imagine their phone to be ringing or feel it vibrating
Cardiovascular
Mobiles can cause electromagnetic interference in the working of implanted pacemakers
Endocrine
A French group studied the influence of electromagnetic fields emitted by GSM-900 cellular telephones on steroid and pituitary hormone levels in healthy males and discovered drops
Reproductive
Rats subjected to mobile radiation were found to have damaged DNA and low sperm count
Miscellaneous
A study said that prolonged use of a cell phone leads to inactivity and is associated with an increased risk of obesity
(Source: Journal Of Association Of Physicians Of India)
SCREENED OUT
DOCTORS ADVISE A NUMBER OF PRECAUTIONS TO REDUCE THE EXPOSURE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY FROM CELL PHONES
Limit the use to essential calls and keep them short, particularly in rural areas. Or, simply, text
Allow children to use a cell phone only in cases of emergency. Since their skulls are developing, radiation can penetrate deeper than in adults
Do not make a call when the signal strength is at one bar or less. It essentially means the phone must work harder to establish a connection
Buy a phone with a low specific absorption rate (SAR), which is a way to measure the quantity of RF energy that is absorbed by the body
