Cell phone warning remains in dispute
Disputed memo says there’s a cancer link
A Roswell Park Cancer Institute administrator says that the link between cell phone use and cancer hasn’t been conclusively proved but that it’s better to err on the side of caution.
And the author of a book that advises parents how to raise their children in this high-tech world said she now plans to buy a hands-free device for her son’s cell phone.
But a half-dozen cell phone users said in interviews that they feel a bit overwhelmed by relatively vague cancer warnings and that they don’t plan to change their cell phone habits.
“I take it with a grain of salt. There’s risk with anything. There’s risk drinking this coffee,” said Abdul Mackie, a human resources associate, as he sat outside Spot Coffee on Elmwood Avenue.
They were all responding to the memo issued last week by a top cancer researcher that urges people to limit their cell phone use because of the risk of developing brain cancer.
The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, encourages people to talk by speakerphone or with a hands-free device.
Children in particular are at higher risk of developing cancer from long-term use of cell phones, he warned.
“Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use,” Herberman said in his memo to faculty and staff at the university.
However, Herberman based his conclusion on unpublished scientific data, and his warnings go beyond the scientific consensus on the matter.
“Right now there is no conclusive scientific evidence that can link the two,” said Peper Long, a spokeswoman for the U. S. Food and Drug Administration.
It’s the latest round in the long-standing dispute over whether using cell phones puts people at a greater risk of developing cancer.
Cell phones emit radiofreq uency energy, a form of electromagnetic radiation, and it’s feared that this radiation may interact with tissues and cells in the brain to cause cancer.
The connection between cancer and ionizing forms of radiation such as X-rays and gamma rays is definitive, said Matthew R. Bonner, assistant professor of social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo.
However, radiofrequency energy is a non-ionizing type of radiation comparable to microwave and infrared radiation, and it’s not yet established that non-ionizing radiation causes cancer, he said.
Epidemiological studies haven’t offered a conclusive answer, said James R. Marshall, senior vice president for cancer prevention and population science at Roswell Park.
One of the larger studies completed to date, published last year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, looked at 420,000 Danish cell phone users. The researchers found that the cell phone users weren’t any more likely than non-users to get cancer.
“There have been lots of good studies that have shown no risk, or a small risk. [But] the evidence that there’s massive harm there is not very strong at all,” Marshall said.
Herberman said he based his warning on unpublished data from another large study.
“Really at the heart of my concern is that we shouldn’t wait for a definitive study to come out, but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later,” Herberman, who is no longer granting interviews, told the Associated Press last week.
Herberman’s advice includes holding a cell phone away from your body as much as possible; using a Bluetooth or other hands-free device or the speakerphone function when using a cell phone; and, for longer conversations, using a land line with a corded phone.
Most importantly, Herberman warned that children should only use cell phones during emergencies because their brains are still developing and this puts them at greater risk.
Health experts, however, are urging cell phone users and parents not to overreact to Herberman’s warning.
Officials with the FDA, the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society all emphasized that his advisory exceeds the current evidence.
So how should cell phone users and parents respond to Herberman’s advisory?
“If folks are concerned about that potential risk, they can choose to eliminate their exposure by using the various devices [you] spoke of,” said Elaine Duquette, director of communication and marketing for the Western New York region of the American Cancer Society.
Marshall, the Roswell Park official, said it makes sense for people to take the modest precaution of using the speakerphone setting or a hands-free device with their cell phones, especially when it comes to kids.
“I don’t think there’s any reason not to be careful,” he said.
UB’s Bonner said more research needs to be done to better establish the link, if any, between cell phones and cancer.
However, he and others noted that no study will provide 100 percent certainty on the question of cancer risk.
Nearly everyone interviewed for this article said they’d heard this or previous warnings about the health risks of cell phones.
Some said any type of cancer warning is unnerving.
“When you hear the words ‘cancer,’ ‘brain tumor,’ it’s pretty serious. It scares you. But it’s pretty hard not to use your cell phone,” said Michelle Koehler, a restaurant manager from Williamsville.
Most reacted with indifference.
“Something is going to kill me eventually, it might as well be my cell phone,” said Claire Sheehan, an area native and teacher now living in Brooklyn.
She did note that her father has made a habit of holding his cell phone as far away from his ear as possible because of the reputed health risks.
“That’s just ’cause he’s weird,” she said. “But now he’s going to claim he was right all along.”
Several people said there are bigger issues related to cell phones, including drivers who insist on texting or talking without a hands-free device.
Even parents downplayed the cell phone advisory because the science isn’t definitive.
Duquette, the American Cancer Society official, said her children, 16 and 13 years old, both have cell phones.
“I would honestly say, no, I don’t have a concern” that their use of the phones could cause cancer, Duquette said, noting that distracted driving is a bigger worry for her.
Mackie, the human resources associate, said two of his three children have cell phones with Bluetooth wireless hands-free devices, but not because of the health concerns.
And cell phones are just one of the numerous concerns a parent has these days.
“You do worry about your children being at risk for anything,” Mackie said.
