With mobile phone rates set to decline once again, the chances are that their usage will start shooting up. If millions of cellular phones start sprouting next to every ear, it is time to take a look at their potential health hazards.
We all know that people who talk into mobile phones while driving pose a definite hazard to other people and automobiles in the vicinity. But it is worth understanding the risks to heavy users themselves.
From cancer to tumour to headaches and heat, mobile phones have - anecdotally - been reported to have caused many problems to heavy users. In 1999 and 2000, many TV programmes on British, US and French channels suggested that radiation from mobile phones could damage brain tissues. Should you be worried?
Careful, yes. Worried, no. The good news first: despite several studies in several countries on whether or not mobile phones pose a long-term health risk to users, the broad consensus is that they are fairly safe.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for example, says that
