Mobiles ‘may be riskier than smoking’MOBILE phones are set to become more dangerous to people’s health than asbestos or smoking, according to a leading Australian neurosurgeon.
Research by the Canberra Hospital’s Vini Khurana found that in the next four years, the full impact of mobile phone-caused brain tumours would be revealed.
Dr Khurana’s report, Mobile Phones and Brain Tumours – A Public Health Concern, made headlines all over the world over the weekend.
“It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking, and directly concerns all of us, particularly the younger generation,” Dr Khurana said in a research paper.
In a paper published on his website, Dr Khurana said industry and governments needed to take “immediate steps” to reduce the impact of mobile phone radiation.
“In the years 2008-2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up time to begin to definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain tumour incidence rates,” he said.
Dr Khurana said the number of people that survive after having such a cancer was relatively small.
“A malignant brain tumour represents a life-ending diagnosis in the vast majority of those diagnosed.
“There is a significant and increasing body of evidence – to date at least eight comprehensive clinical studies internationally and one long-term meta-analysis – for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours.”
He said the addition use of accessories, such as some hands-free kits, could even have a bigger impact than just having a mobile phone.
“Bluetooth devices and unshielded headsets can convert the user’s head into an effective, potentially self-harming antenna.”
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