Valentine’s Day is a creative holiday for couples in long-distance relationships. The fancy dinner out turns into reservations for a Skype date, and at the end of the night the cell phone ends up as a cuddle buddy.
Freshman studio art major Gabriele Morales can guarantee that her cell phone will be by her side on Valentines Day. With her boyfriend of two and a half years at UC Riverside, Morales says the long distance relationship has definitely taken a toll.
“It’s been hard missing him. Just being away from your best friend, that’s what is so hard,” says Morales. “We text all the time, 24-7. And we talk on the phone everyday for about an hour and a half.” Morales’ cell phone is an important aspect of her everyday life.
Last year, a report titled “Cell Phones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern,” sent an urgent message to the public. The independently funded project gathered more than 40 scientists, doctors and professors from 14 different countries.
The 10 year study links frequent cell phone use to a heightened outcome of brain cancer. With more than four billion cell phone users worldwide, the researchers worry about people who share similar cell phone habits with Morales.
The study reports that if the public continues to expose themselves to the radiation emitted by mobile phones, a possible epidemic of brain tumors and cancers may occur in the near future.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom started a push last year for the city to become the first in the nation to require warning labels on cell phones and their packaging. His controversial proposal challenges the Federal Communications Commission, which defends that all cell phones on the market in this country are safe.
However, the FCC’s Web site also says, “It has been known for many years that exposure to very high levels of [Ratio Frequency] radiation can be harmful due to the ability of RF energy to heat biological tissue rapidly.” The heating effect caused by radiation can create denatured cells. When these mutated cells divide, it can potentially become cancer.
Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Belgium, Germany, Finland, and India have taken initiatives to raise awareness of the possible risks from cell phone use and some have even put regulations in place.
Dr. Wesley Root, a radiologist at Mad River Community Hospital, says people should take steps to minimize the contact of cell phones with their bodies. He advises not to sleep with the phone close to the bed and especially not while charging, due to the heightened energy emitted.
Root adds that his family attaches BIOPRO Technology products to anything that transmits radio frequency in their home including cell phones. “It absorbs the energy and converts it into a different frequency so it results in being cooler...Taking away from the heating effect it has on the brain,” says Root.
Newsome’s proposal was inspired by France’s new law banning all advertisement of cell phones to children as well as making it illegal for cell phones to be used at primary schools.
The World Health Organization states on its Web site that the evidence is not strong enough to make a clear conclusion on the issue. “Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects,” states the Web site.
Sarah Lewis, a sales associate at Arcata’s Redwood Coast (U.S.) Cellular says that until concrete evidence is released that cell phones cause cancer, the public will “not fear it.”
She notices that warnings are tucked away in the manuals and agrees with Newsom’s idea to make the labels more prominent. “If studies are showing that there is trauma and damage to our brains then I think it would be an exceptional thing to do,” says Lewis. “I would want my customers to know.”
If Newsom’s ordinance gets passed, San Francisco retailers will have to put the amount of radiation emitted by each product next to its price tag.
Lewis adds that if enough scientists confirmed the dangers of cell phone radiation and this type of law was enacted in Arcata, she wouldn’t want to promote the industry. “I would probably choose an alternate place of employment... if it has been confirmed,” says Lewis.
Morales adds that even with the reports linking brain tumors to cell phone use, she has no plans in changing her habits. “I’m not too worried about it… I’m not scared of every little thing that could be bad for me. If I were then I would never get in a car.”
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