Dr. Lennart Hardell, professor of oncology at the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden, found from examining 15 studies from six countries that children using cell phones before the age of 20 had five times the likelihood of developing gliomas (brain cancers) and acoustic neuromas (tumors of the auditory nerve) than people who start cell phone use after the age of 20. The incidence of cancer for children under 20 years old using handheld phones is four times more than those over age 20 who use those phones.
A glioma is a cancer of the glia cells. Glia (from Greek, meaning glue) are the neuron- support team, holding the neurons in place, supplying them with nutrients and oxygen, and guiding their development in the young. No matter what type of glioma a person has, the prognosis is very poor, the longevity of those being only nine months to three years after diagnosis.
Acoustic neuromas are benign tumors of the auditory nerve, although to the people who get them, they are anything but benign, as they cause dizziness, loss of balance, and deafness.
A child’s brain is not considered developed until the age of 20. The cell phone radiation goes 5 inches into a child’s brain and 2 inches into an adult’s. Although there has been a recent increase of brain cancer in children coincidental with the introduction of cell phones, an epidemic is not expected to begin for about 10 years.
The European Parliament has voted to urge countries to be stricter in limiting use of cell phones by the young. In the United States, a subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee is considering the question.
References:
Technologyexpert.blogspot.com/2008/09/childrens-use-of-cell-phones-increases.html
reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS125743+29-Sep-2008+PRN20080929
mybiopro.com/The_Problem.aspx?ID=awengrove
independent.co.uk/news/science/mobile-phone-use-raises-childrens-risk-of-brain-cancer-fivefold-937005.html
