Mobile phones and children

There has been a lively ongoing debate as to whether such phones are safe or not. Recently some scientists have cautioned that youngsters should not be given mobile phones as their skulls are thinner than adults (Lean 2008). The human brain and eye is very good at absorbing radiation. Studies have found an increase in acoustic neoromas in the ear most used when speaking. The mobile phone companies have employed respectable scientists such as professor Colin Blakemore to promote their wares. More than a decade ago Colin Blakemore wrote that mobiles emitted low radiation does and were perfectly safe. He was being paid by the company to reassure the public. I wrote a letter published in the Oxford Mail newspaper to counter this assertion. My argument was as follows. Many cancers have a multi phase aetiology and a long latency phase. For example a carcinogen that causes leukaemia such as benzene, may have a latency phase of fifteen years. Therefore  it was completely wrong of Professor Blakemore to make that assertion at that particular moment in time. Firstly at that time in history, mobile phones had not been in use for a sufficiently long time to assess the long term effects of their use. In other words, there was not the epidemiological evidence base for the assertion that mobiles were safe. Just as it may take decades to suffer from a cigarette smoke related death, so it may take many years for the damage from mobile phones to surface.  The dangers of noxious products do not always manifest themselves straight away. This is known as the latency period. When Colin Blakemore made the assertion that mobile phones were safe he was acting irresponsibly and without firm evidence. He made this deduction purely on the measurements of radiation emitted by the phones. Admittedly this radiation is not high. However there have been suggestions that this type of thermal microwave radiation may compromise the blood brain barrier which may become permeable and leaky. This could lead to toxic substances crossing the blood brain barrier.

 On publication of my article in the Oxford Mail in  the year 2000  there was no counter argument received from Professor Blakemore who is an Oxford resident. Presumably he had fulfilled his contractual obligation as marketing consultant for the mobile phone company and felt no need to support his assertions.

 My article was the first to suggest the worrying issue of the latency period with mobile phone use. Subsequently there have been Swedish studies that vindicate my concerns (Lean 2008). Parents must now be aware that children may be up to five times more likely to suffer brain tumours as a result of heavy phone use. As a parent I have never given my children a mobile phone and do not use one myself.  Mobile phones may be convenient and seductive to own. However cigarettes used to be thought of as safe until Sir Richard Doll from Oxford showed otherwise. Therefore it would be wise to remember the principle of caveat emptor.