New links between cell phones and tumors

One analysis shows cell phone users have a 10% to 30% increased risk of tumors -- but more research is still needed to confirm the findings.

Wed, Oct 14 2009 at 1:31 PM EST

Just a month after Environmental Working Group released its online consumer guide to cell phone radiation, new studies suggest that cell phones are indeed a gadget to be concerned about — though how alarmed we should be still remains unclear.

The Los Angeles Times reports that when data from 23 different studies were pooled together, no link was seen between cell phone use and brain tumors. However, when data from the eight strongest studies from the 23 were singled out, “cell phone users were shown to have a 10 percent to 30 percent increased risk of tumors compared with people who rarely or never used the phones.”

That said, seven of those eight studies were conducted by a single Swedish researcher. And the data could be affected by the fact that many people in Sweden live in more rural areas, where more radio-frequency energy is generally required for cell phone use.

What can we take away from these findings? We need more and better studies that aren’t funded by the cell phone industry, according to the researchers. In the meantime, use Environmental Working Group’s online consumer guide to cell phone radiation to find out how the radiation level of your phone compares to that other phones — and what you can do to reduce cell phone radiation exposure.

Photo: Billie Hara

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