Article Rebuttal - Does the Use of Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer?
Article Rebuttal
BCOM/275
March 19, 2012
Tania Say
Article Rebuttal Does the Use of Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer? The Opponent’s Argument In this paper valid points will be presented to refute the statement made by Dr. Ronald Herberman, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, to his faculty and staff on July 21, 2008. “Limit cell phone use because of the potential risk of cancer” (Reyes, 2009). Herberman based his claim on unpublished data and stated “it takes too long to get answers from science and I think people should take action now” (Reyes, 2009). Herberman quoted one study that was published in a paper by the Royal Society in London, which found that “pre-teen and teenagers who started using cell phones before reaching the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer by the age of 29 than the ones who did not use a cell phone” (Reyes, 2009). Some experts labeled that study as being “biased and flawed”. My Position Besides the University of Pittsburgh, there were no other major academic cancer-research institutions that have sounded the same alarm that using a cellular phone will cause cancer. It was also found that Herberman had no expertise on this subject and was unnecessarily scaring people. According to the NCI’s (National Cancer Institute) data, it shows that in despite the increase in cellular phone users, brain tumor rates have been steady. Cell phone users have increased from 110 million users in 2000 to 208 million users in 2005.
My Refutation Nine studies were looked at in a 2008 University of Utah analysis – some studies that was cited by Herberman was also included - with thousands of patients who had brain tumors and they concluded that the risk of brain tumors increasing among cellular-phone-users was none at all. Studies completed in France and Norway came to the same conclusion in 2007. “If there is a risk from these products –
BCOM/275
March 19, 2012
Tania Say
Article Rebuttal Does the Use of Cell Phones Cause Brain Cancer? The Opponent’s Argument In this paper valid points will be presented to refute the statement made by Dr. Ronald Herberman, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, to his faculty and staff on July 21, 2008. “Limit cell phone use because of the potential risk of cancer” (Reyes, 2009). Herberman based his claim on unpublished data and stated “it takes too long to get answers from science and I think people should take action now” (Reyes, 2009). Herberman quoted one study that was published in a paper by the Royal Society in London, which found that “pre-teen and teenagers who started using cell phones before reaching the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer by the age of 29 than the ones who did not use a cell phone” (Reyes, 2009). Some experts labeled that study as being “biased and flawed”. My Position Besides the University of Pittsburgh, there were no other major academic cancer-research institutions that have sounded the same alarm that using a cellular phone will cause cancer. It was also found that Herberman had no expertise on this subject and was unnecessarily scaring people. According to the NCI’s (National Cancer Institute) data, it shows that in despite the increase in cellular phone users, brain tumor rates have been steady. Cell phone users have increased from 110 million users in 2000 to 208 million users in 2005.
My Refutation Nine studies were looked at in a 2008 University of Utah analysis – some studies that was cited by Herberman was also included - with thousands of patients who had brain tumors and they concluded that the risk of brain tumors increasing among cellular-phone-users was none at all. Studies completed in France and Norway came to the same conclusion in 2007. “If there is a risk from these products –
References: Reyes, M.D., T.M. (2009). The Philippine Star. Are Cell Phones Dangerous to Your Health? Retrieved from http://www.philstar.com/ArticlePrinterFriendly.aspx?articleId=515660 Childs, D. (2009). ABC News Medical Unit. 7 Surprising Ways Cell Phones Affect Your Health. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=7017768&page=3