Report Shows Long Term Use of Cell Phones Linked to
Brain Tumors

A report by Toronto Public Health advises children to limit
their use of cell phones as much as possible, citing studies
that have linked long-term mobile phone exposure to an
increased risk of brain tumors.

"We think it's responsible to limit children's exposure," the
researchers wrote.

"While scientists were pretty dismissive of any risk years
ago, with the accumulation of studies, it appears people who
have been using their phones for a long period of time are
at greater risk of certain kinds of brain tumors." said report
co-author Loren Vanderlinden.

Toronto Public Health recommends that children use land
lines whenever possible, using mobile phones only for
"essential purposes." When cell phones are used, the report
urges children to keep calls shorter than 10 minutes and to
use headsets or other hands-free devices as much as
possible. Limiting cellular phone use is especially important
for pre-adolescents, the authors said.

"Teach [children] the ways to use a cell phone responsibly,"
Vanderlinden advised parents. "To make shorter calls, to use
other modes of communication; if it's possible, use a
landline."

Researchers suspect that the thinner skulls and smaller
heads of children place them at greater risk than adults from
the same degree of mobile phone radiation. Indeed, some
studies have confirmed that cell phone radiation penetrates
deeper into the brains of children than adults.

The use of cellular phones has dramatically increased in
Canada over the last 10 years, particularly among children.
Approximately 61 percent of children between the ages of
12 in 19 now use mobile phones. The numbers for children
under the age of 12 are not known.

The Toronto warning is the first warning against cellular
phone use in Canada, and is similar to warnings that have
been issued in Belgium, England, France, Germany and
Russia. Health Canada, the country's public health agency,
said it had no plans to follow Toronto's lead.

Sources for this story include:
www.upi.com; www.ctv.ca; www.cbc.ca.




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