Will Your Cellphone Make you Sick?
We recently included several winning Top Question Tuesday selections on an interactive poll. Stay tuned to this blog as we’ll be releasing the results over the next several weeks! And don’t forget to submit your own nominations for Top Question Tuesday using the box on the right of this blog.
One question we asked concerned respondents’ feelings about a potential link between cell phones and cancer. The question noted that “some scientists suggest there is no link between cell phone usage and cancer, while other scientists argue there is a link. How concerned are you that long-term cell phone usage can cause cancer?”.
Overall, 42% of the sample was concerned (10% very concerned, 32% somewhat concerned), and 56% of the sample was not concerned (36% not very concerned, 20% not at all concerned). Young people were slightly more average than likely to not be concerned, with 62% of those 18-29 saying they were not very or not at all that long-term cellphone usage can cause cancer. Those who described themselves as very cosnservative were also more likely than average to not be concerned, with 63% of this group saying they were not very or not at all concerned.
Liberals (46% ) and females (45%) were the few groups that were more likely than other groups to be concerned about links between cellphones and cancer. However, even these two groups had the majority of their respondents say they were not concerned.
How concerned are you about a potential link between cell phones and cancer? How about concern for your kids, many of whom may have had cell phones since a young age? Do you believe the scientific evidence is currently strong enough to either prove or disprove a connection?
Loading ...
Cell phone use the about same radio frequency as microwave ovens. OK, the power is much less so maybe they only cook a dozen brain cells per call . . . .
In my opinion the evidence is inconclusive but starting to tilt towards a positive link. Definitive studies on the issue need to be done by unbiased sources (not the cell phone manufacturers or wireless industry).
In the meantime though we need to err on the side of caution with our kids, especially the youngest whose brains are still developing and skulls are still forming. I cringe every time I see a baby with a cell phone.