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Is it possible to be allergic to cell phones?

(Answer: yes)

By Andrew Nusca | March 8, 2010, 2:55pm PST

At least 250,000 people in Sweden are allergic to the radio waves


that are emitted when someone makes a call with a cellular
mobile phone, according to a new report.

Called electro-hypersensitivity, the condition means the


afflicted have severe physical reactions — from dizziness, nausea
and headaches to breathing problems, heart palpitations and flat-
out fainting — to the electromagnetic radiation produced by
consumer electronics such as computers, televisions and cell
phones.

Are cell phones really safe?

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetreviews/is-it-
possible-to-be-allergic-to-cell-phones-answer-yes/13011?tag=content;col1

250,000 Swedes allergic to mobile phone radiation

By Andrew Nusca | Mar 8, 2010

Some 250,000 people in Sweden are allergic to the radio


waves that are emitted when someone makes a call with a
cellular mobile phone, according to a new report.

Called electro-hypersensitivity, the condition means the


afflicted have severe physical reactions — from dizziness,
nausea and headaches to breathing problems, heart
palpitations and flat-out fainting — to the electromagnetic
radiation produced by consumer electronics such as
computers, televisions and cell phones.

According to a stunning new article in Popular Science, Sweden


is the only country in the world to recognize EHS as a
functional impairment. The article explains the plight of Per
Segerbäck, one of the three percent of Swedes with the
condition.

Once, while on a sailboat with friends, he recalls, he


was on the front deck when, unknown to him, someone
made a call belowdecks. Headache, nausea,
unconsciousness. When Segerbäck is within range of an
active cellphone (safe distances vary because different
makes and models produce different radiation levels), he experiences the feeling that
there is “not enough room in my skull for my brain.”
In Sweden, EHS sufferers are entitled to similar rights and services as the blind and deaf,
and can have metal shielding installed in their homes free of charge from the local
government.

The mobile phone industry says scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that wireless
devices are safe. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the International Commission on
Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the American Cancer Society and the World Health
Organization agree — and flat brain-cancer rates have thus far confirmed that assessment.

Segerbäck for 20 years was a telecommunications engineer at Ellemtel, a division of


Ericsson. “He was, as a result, up to his eyeballs in a non-ionizing radiation bath, from
computers, fluorescent lights and the telecom antenna located right outside his window,”
Popular Science writes.

His colleagues complained of similar symptoms. The company responded by offering them
protective suits, modifying their living spaces and even vehicles to accommodate for their
sensitivity. Ericsson produced a report in 1993 about the condition that underlined the
necessity to combat it.

Still, Segerbäck was let go in 1999 for an inability to perform his work duties. Now he lives
on a cottage in a nature reserve 75 miles northeast of Stockholm — far away from gadget-
produced radiation.

Do cell phones cause brain cancer? So far, no one’s been able to conclusively prove it. But
the body’s cells are a source of electrical activity, and the emergence of the condition
indicates that we might not fully understand what we’ve created.

Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/250000-swedes-allergic-
to-mobile-phone-radiation/4845/

Are cell phones safe? Fact is we don’t know yet

By John Dodge | Mar 8, 2010

An article in Gentleman’s Quartley (GQ) last month reignited the public debate about cell
phones causing brain cancer. The article, among things, cites the Interphone Study done in
France which found that cell phones drive up the chances of adults getting a brain tumor by
40 per cent on the side of head where the device is used.

“There are multiple reports, mostly out of Europe’s premier


research institutions, of cell-phone and PDA use being linked to
“brain aging,” brain damage, early-onset Alzheimer’s, senility,
DNA damage, and even sperm die-offs (many men, after all,
keep their cell phones in their pants pockets or attached at the
hip),” the article said.

Europe and the 13 countries that participated in the ongoing Interphone Study which
commenced in 2000 are worried about the potential damage cell phone cause even though
studies that we rely on here in the U.S. seem to suggest otherwise. Call it Kyoto II: the U.S.
did not participate in Interphone.
“The European Environment Agency, warned that cell-phone technology “could lead
to a health crisis similar to those caused by asbestos, smoking, and lead in petrol,”
the GQ article said.

This news (well, not exactly news….the above warning was issued in 2007) comes when just
above every living and breathing American north of 12 has a cell phone. Some 270 million
were in use in the U.S. at the end of 2008, according to The National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Fact Sheet on Cell Phone Risk, which suggests we make shorter phone calls and use a hands
free device to keep the blasted things away from our skulls. Here’s what the NCI says:

“There is concern that RF energy produced by cellular phones may affect the brain
and nervous system tissue in the head because hand-held cellular telephones are
usually held close to the head. Researchers have focused on whether RF energy can
cause malignant (cancerous) brain tumors such as gliomas (cancers of the brain that
begin in glial cells, which surround and support the nerve cells), as well as benign
(noncancerous) tumors, such as acoustic neuromas (tumors that arise in the cells of
the nerve that supplies the ear) and meningiomas (tumors that occur in the
meninges, which are the membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal
cord) (1). The salivary glands also may be exposed to RF energy from cellular
telephones held close to the head.”

While the NCI concedes there’s no proven link between all this human body mayhem and
cell phones, it says we need another decade of long term studies before we rule anything
out. This tells me the NCI without definitely saying so suspects cell phones can be linked to a
variety of disorders to the brain and central nervous system.

Here’s what really bothers me. When was the last time someone voiced to you any concern
about cell phones emitting harmful radio frequency energy. Throw in cell towers if you
happen to live close to one.

My perception is that the U.S. public thinks that we’ve ruled out the dangers of cell phones.
Clearly we shouldn’t. Remember, about four decades passed before we came to universal
conclusion that smoking is harmful. And we knew all along it was.

The situation with cell phones is less clear, but let’s at least admit, the jury is still out and
that it might be wise to heed the NCI’s advice to keep those calls short and go hands free.

Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/technology/blog/thinking-tech/are-cell-phones-safe-
fact-is-we-dont-know/3344/

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