By John Salak –
Listen up, definitive proof has emerged that cell phones don’t cause brain cancer. That’s a relief. For years there were rising concerns that the radiation emitted by cell phones could have deadly consequences.
While there was a lot of previous evidence to suggest that cell phones were safe, it was still no small concern to a mobile phone-obsessed public. Of course, this concern never really stopped anyone’s addiction to cell phones. Americans on average spend about 4 hours and 30 minutes every day with phones pressed against their ears—checking their devices 144 times every 24 hours on average—almost 6 percent rate even themselves as cell phone addicts.
Now, however, this cancer concern can be put to bed—or wherever else these types of worries go. A study commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that using mobile phones is not linked to brain cancer.
WHO based its findings on a systematic review of more than 5,000 studies, of which 63, were published between 1994 and 2022. Ultimately, the study found that there is also no link between mobile phone use and any other head or neck cancer.
The initial concern that cell phones might raise the risk of developing certain types of cancer is tied to radiation emitted by these devices. Given the amount of cell phone usage and that these devices are usually placed against ears, the worry was particularly associated with brain cancer.
Fears were heightened in 2011 when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified radio waves exposure as a possible carcinogen, even though the National Cancer Institute noted that the meaning of this classification was largely misunderstood.
Admittedly, radiation can cause harm. The institute notes, however, that second-, third- and fourth-generation cell phones (2G, 3G, 4G) emit radiofrequency that are too low to do any damage.
The risks of developing cancer are nonexistent even if an individual uses a cell phone for years at a time, regardless of how many calls they make.
Of course, whether it is emotionally or intellectually healthy being so obsessed with a cell phone that a person checks it 100 to 200 times a day is different. Cell phone addiction can lead to sleep problems, stress, increased insecurity, psychological disorders, anxiety and creativity blocks, according to the Addiction Center.
All of these are good reasons to put down that cell phone.
