With practically everyone owning a mobile phone and spending a considerable amount of time on them each day, it is wise to ask the question: Are mobile phones dangerous to one’s health? While there are no conclusive answers at the moment, there are conflicting studies. Some show that mobile phones are safe and others show that mobile phones may pose a health risk.

Mobile phones may be considered potentially dangerous in a few ways. First, they send and receive high frequency radio waves. Second, these devices have batteries in them that may be unstable in extreme heat or in certain circumstances where a battery or other part is defective. It should be noted that these occurrences are extremely rare.

The jury is still out on whether or not mobile phones are actually dangerous to people’s health. While the short term risks are extremely low or non existent, the fact that millions have used mobile phones in the last decade have caused moderate length and long term risks to remain unproven. Here are some arguments for and against mobile phone safety according to facts that the BBC printed in November 2004.

Arguments Supporting the Belief that Mobile Phones are Dangerous

There are a few arguments that support the theory that mobile phones are dangerous to the user’s health:

  1. While the evidence is still not clear, it is possible that using a mobile phone on a regular basis can increase the susceptibility to brain tumors or brain cancer by 2.5 times.
  2. Mobile phones use magnetic fields to operate. Studies based on research in the past have shown that in certain circumstances, magnetic fields can affect living cells.
  3. Those that spend long periods of time talking on a mobile phone have mentioned fatigue, a loss of concentration, and sometimes headaches.
  4. It is possible that radio waves that mobile phones give off can heat up and damage tissue.

Arguments Supporting the Belief that Mobile Phones are Safe

  1. Radio waves emitted when a mobile phone is used are not hot enough to affect or damage near by tissue.
  2. Regarding brain tumor incidence, researchers admit that the evidence still is not clear as to whether tumors or cancer are directly related to mobile phone use.
  3. Factors regarding loss of concentration, fatigue, or headaches are likely false since they cannot be replicated in the laboratory.
  4. Magnetic fields that a mobile phone emits are extremely small and not likely to affect living cells in harmful ways.

Some Tips on Mobile Phone Safety

Obviously, the jury is still out on whether or not mobile phones are dangerous to health. If someone feels threatened by the potential health aspects of using a mobile phone, the easiest way to avoid this threat is to simply not use these phones. While extremely convenient, our society lived comfortably without mobiles in the past. If someone would like to have the convenience of a mobile phone, but also wants to lessen their risk, there are a few simple things he/she can do.

  • Use a headset to keep the mobile phone away from the head
  • Only talk for short periods of time on a mobile phone. Use a land line for longer conversations

If there are still questions, please consult a doctor regarding this issue.