UK Board: Don't give cell phones to young

[HuckleB]

UK Board: Don't give cell phones to young

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=Britain%20Cell%20Phone%20Safety

"Parents should not give mobile phones to children age 8 or younger as a precaution against the potential harm of radiation from the devices, the chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board said Tuesday.

Some experts deemed the warning unfounded and unwarranted, but a company that recently launched a phone aimed at young children said it was suspending sales until it has time to evaluate it.

Sir William Stewart, chairman of the NRPB, said there's no conclusive evidence showing a clear danger, but said a growing amount of research shows that mobile phone use may have health implications, making it wise to adopt a "precautionary approach," particularly with children.

"I don't think we can put our hands on our hearts and say mobile phones are safe," Stewart told a news conference. "When you come to giving mobile phones to a 3- to 8-year-old, that can't possibly be right."

..."

[Dear Maggie]

1. Some think there is reason for concern

There was a comment written into a TV show last week in which the actor didn't carry a cell phone. He said it was because they cause tumors.

(Well, you know what I think is a primary cause of tumors!?)

So before they do the 'statistics' remove all those with CFS, CFIDS, and gulf war syndrome as a sub group that could come down with tumors with or without the cell phone.

[Mokkori]

2. Nothing more than speculation

I oppose this the speculation that the radiation from cell phones causes brain cancer. It has never been proven scientifically. Why not claim that tumours could just as easily be caused by drinking Pepsi, sitting too close to the TV, or thinking about Jesus? I have just as much evidence as the cellular-hating loonies do.

Almost all gas stations have warning stickers saying that cell phones can cause explosions. This is a lie that was started by a hoax email. In fact, it has been proven that almost all of the recent explosions were caused by static electricity. The same thing that keeps your car safe from lightning strikes--being insulated from the ground by rubber tires--allows for a buildup of static electricity. When you get in and out of your car, you pick up a charge. If the next thing you touch is a flowing gas pump (which <i>is</i> grounded), the static spark can ignite the fumes coming out of your fuel tank. Cell phones are innocent.

There is also the fact that modern day digital cell phones transmit using use a tenth (or less) of the power that those big clunky analog phones did. We haven't seen a noticeable drop in brain tumour rates since those phones disappeared into obsolescence. Time to leave the cell phones alone and look for another cause.