The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer announced today that its experts have found evidence that cell phones pose a risk of brain cancer in humans. A report summarizing their conclusions will be published in the Lancet Oncology on July 1.
The group, which consisted of 31 scientists from 14 countries, gathered in France last week as part of a WHO working group. The experts reviewed all the available studies, literature, and data to date, and determined that there is evidence—though limited—of a link between cell-phone use and cancer risk.
Although the experts were unable to quantify the risk, the working group’s chair, Dr. Jonathan Samet of the University of Southern California, stated in a press release that “the evidence, while still accumulating, is strong enough to support a conclusion . . . that there could be some risk, and therefore we need to keep a close watch for a link between cell phones and cancer risk.”
A 2004 study found that people who talked on cell phones for 30 minutes a day over a 10-year period faced a 40 percent increased risk for a type of brain cancer called glioma.
That’s a lot of talk time, to be sure, but given the risk, will you limit your phone use? Take our poll, and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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