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Can Cell Phones Cause Cancer

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Can Cell Phones Cause Cancer
Technology has always made an impact on our society. Over the last few decades, there have been many inventions that have changed our lifestyles. Cellular Telephony has, by all accounts, modified how we interact with others; but at what cost? Are there health issues associated with this technology? More explicitly can cell phones cause cancer? This question is the basis of this review. The researcher has compiled articles that cover this topic from diverse scholarly sources, and diverse countries.
It is undeniable that cellular technology has become main stream. "It was estimated that there were 92 million cell phone users in the US, a number growing by one million every month." (Frumkin, Jacobson, Gansler & Thun 2001). The arrival and widespread use of cell phones has peaked interest of the health effects of radiofrequencies in the human body.
Cell phones use radio frequencies to transmit signals. Radio Frequencies (RF) are a form of electrical waves similar to those used in radios, microwaves, radars or satellite stations. They are emitted from a transmitter, and received using an antenna. This telephony technology is restricted geographically to small zones called "Cells". Every cell has a base station capable of sending and receiving radio waves. When a call is started a signal leaves the handheld unit headed to the closest base station. This station answers by allocating a specific channel to the unit. When this "channel" is established, modulated radio frequency signals are both received and transmitted. The head of the user is in the near field of use because the distance from the antenna to the head is a few centimeters. (Blettner & Berg 2000) If the antenna is inside the body of the phone, the exposure to Radio Frequencies is greater. The antenna might be requesting a stronger signal to contest with the interference of the battery or the actual shell of the phone 's body.
The level of RF a person receives is related to many factors, not only the



References: Ahlbom, A., Green, A., Kheifets, L., Savitz, D., & Swerdlow, A. (2004 December). Epidemiology of health effects of radiofrequency exposure. Environmental Medicine, 112 (17), 1741-1754. AlOrainy, A. (2003). Recent research on mobile phone effects. Proceedings of the International Conference on Non-Ionizing Radiation at UNITEN. Blettner, M., & Berg, G. (2000). Are mobile phones harmful?. Acta Oncologica, 39 (8), 927-930. Boice, J. D., & McLaughlin, J. K. (2002). Epidemiologic studies of cellular telephones and cancer risk. Frey, A Frumkin, H., Jacobson, A., Gansler, T., & Thun, M. J. (2001). Environmental carcinogens – Cellular phones and risk of brain tumors. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 51, 137-141. Goldsmith, JR. (1995). Epidemiologic evidence of radiofrequency radiation effects on health in military, broadcasting and occupational studies. International Journal On Occupational Environmental Health, 1, 47-57. Maisch, D. (2001 April). Mobile phone use: It 's time to take precautions. Journal of Australasian College of Nutrition & Environmental Medicine, 20 (1) 3-10. Mild, K. H., Hardell, L., Kundi, M. & Mattson, M. (2003). Mobile telephones and cancer: Is there really no evidence of an association?. International Journal Of Molecular Medicine, 12, 67-72. Moulder, J. E., Erdreich, L. S., Malyapa, R. S., Merrit, J. Pickard, W.F., & Vijayalaxmi. (1999). Cell phones and cancer: What is the evidence for a connection?. Radiation Research, 151, 513-531. Salford, L. G., Brun, A. E., Eberhardt, J. L., Malmgreen, L., & Persson, B. R. R. (2003 June). Nerve cell damage in mammalian brain after exposure to microwaves from GSM mobile phones. Environmental Medicine, 111 (7), 881-883. Sandström, M., Mild, K. H., Wilén, J., & Oftedal, G. (2000 June). Symptoms associated with mobile phone use: Results of the Swedish-Norwegian survey. Salzburg Conference. Stewart, W. (2000). Mobile phones and health.

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