42% think there is a link between cell phones and brain cancer

I am referring to a poll* conducted by the Bangor Daily News which has been following the debate of a new bill which would require that cell phone manufacturers apply a non removable and permanent warning label to every cell phone sold in the state of Augusta Maine. The label would advise users to hold the cell phone several inches away from their heads or to use an earphone or speaker.

Personally I think the chances of this bill getting past are very slim. But what's important is that the the state legislature of Maine is another opportunity to bring the subject of cell phones and cancer back to the centre stage, where it was a few months ago with the Senate hearings. As with the Senate hearings, experts have again been brought in to support the claims of both sides of the argument.

Professor Devra Davis was brought in again to speak of her study which has focused on cell phone use of 10 years or more and shows a clear connection to cancers of the brain, acoustic nerves, the salivary glands, reduced sperm count and insomnia, to name but a few.

The Maine legislature also reviewed a recent study by Dr Franz Adlkofer. He told the committee that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phones lead to damage in DNA strands which in turn set the stage for many other disorders.

Michael Belliveau of the Environmental Health Strategy Centre in Maine spoke of three irrefutable facts about cell phones. He said that cell phones expose the human brain to radiation, that radiation causes biological changes in human cells and that there are studies that link cell phone use to brain cancer.

If this bill was to get passed into law it would be a tremendous advance. The question is not, should cell phones be banned, it is merely one of suggesting that people use them safely. In so doing it would acknowledge the growing body of scientific evidence which shows cell phones are detrimental to our health and the growing public concern on this issue.

*This is an Internet poll open to anybody that would like to comment on the issue of whether cell phones cause brain cancer. The 42% is a snapshot of the poll – it's a figure that was showing at the time I accessed their website, so it may show differently when you look.