# Are Cellular Phones the Asbestos/Tobacco of our time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 1, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708 "2001-10-01T02:52:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_B.Goode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Johnny\_B.Goode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_B.Goode)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/1 "2001-10-01T02:52:10Z")
Although I don’t have any compelling scientific evidence to point to, I have a suspicion that, in generations to come, people will wonder what the hell we were all thinking, putting these devices to our skulls. What are the chances that, like the tobacco companies, mobile phone manufacturers are obfuscating or concealing the facts on the effects of their products on long term users? What I do know is that when I speak on a mobile phone for any significant length of time, I get a headache. Could that possibly be harmless to me? The frightening thought is that, given that cellular phones have only experienced widespread use in the past five to ten years, the cancer cases (should they arise) may not appear for years to come. Anyone have an opinion on this one? ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/2 "2001-10-01T03:06:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Although I don’t have any compelling scientific evidence to point to Call me when you do. Every study (that I’m aware of) to date has come up negative. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/3 "2001-10-01T03:08:19Z")
Oh, and I should note – if it bothers or worries you, there are plenty of ways to avoid it, such as headsets that attach to your phone while the phone stays on your belt (of course, if you’re worried about what it does to your head, I’m not sure you’d want it near your other vital organ around the belt area either 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/4 "2001-10-01T04:23:56Z")
Johnny B. Goode wrote: > [@](#): > > What are the chances that, like the tobacco companies, mobile phone manufacturers are obfuscating or concealing the facts on the effects of their products on long term users? Ah, the wondrous beauty of the Grand Conspiracy Theory. If evidence comes out that points to the Conspiracy, the conspiracy-theorists say, “See, I told you so!”. If evidence comes out that goes **against** the notion of the Conspiracy, the conspiracy-theorists say, “That’s just what the Conspirators _want_ you to believe!” If the evil, sinister mobile phone manufacturers are secretly concealing the knowledge that their products cause cancer, they must have paid off every organization that has ever done studies of cellphone users or exposed laboratory animals to “cellphone radiation” – because, as David B has said, every attempt to find a verifyable link between cellular telephone usage and cancer has thus far come up negative. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/5 "2001-10-01T04:53:43Z")
Patient: when I speak on a mobile phone for any significant length of time, I get a headache. Doctor: Don’t do it. Next! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/6 "2001-10-01T05:33:01Z")
The question is, are electromagnetic fields harmful? Do people exposed to electromagnetic fields have a higher incidence of cancer? Cell phones and power lines can expose people to increased electromagnetic energy. Could these increases cause cancer? Well, if a small increase in an electromagnetic field could cause health problems, then a large increase should cause larger health problems. And it turns out that there are people who are exposed every day to fields millions of times stronger than those generated by a cell phone or a power line. And these people have cancer rates that are statistically indistinguishable from the general population. If these fields could cause cancer one would think that very very very high doses would cause cancer. But they don’t. So how could much much much weaker exposure cause cancer? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_B.Goode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Johnny\_B.Goode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_B.Goode)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/7 "2001-10-01T05:55:13Z")
Just some resources to scratch your heads at: [http://www.calicoweb.net/issues/issue002.html](http://www.calicoweb.net/issues/issue002.html) [http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1428.html](http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1428.html) [http://www.futuredynamicadvantage.com/research/cellular.html](http://www.futuredynamicadvantage.com/research/cellular.html) ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/8 "2001-10-01T13:13:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David B \* > \*\*Oh, and I should note – if it bothers or worries you, there are plenty of ways to avoid it, such as headsets that attach to your phone while the phone stays on your belt. \*\* It’s been suggested that the headset could actually be worse than holding the phone. The cable up to your head may act as the ideal conductor for any nasty radiation, channeling it directly into your ear. Quite apart from that, they tend to make you look like a mad man talking to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/9 "2001-10-01T13:18:06Z")
You can’t argue with the fact that if you use one in a car it’s certainly dangerous to everyone around you. Kill yourself if you want (although I still find that horribly offensive) but don’t you dare put my family or myself at risk of a car accident just because you want to make an effing phone call. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to rant but people erratically driving phone booths absolutely piss me off. In that regard, yes, they’re dangerous as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/10 "2001-10-01T13:55:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\*It’s been suggested that the headset could actually be worse than holding the phone. The cable up to your head may act as the ideal conductor for any nasty radiation, channeling it directly into your ear. > \*\* Headphones of all sorts have been around for many years. Are incidents of ear cancer higher among walkman abusers? Of all the things on this planet somebody can worry about, headphones are way down on my list - next to demonic teddy bears. ---
**Author:** ![jonfromdenver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@jonfromdenver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonfromdenver)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/11 "2001-10-01T20:04:54Z")
i don’t have a cell phone for this very reason. call me old-fashioned, but i’m sticking to killing myself with good 'ol tobacco and alcohol abuse. ---
**Author:** ![rob\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@rob\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rob_s)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/12 "2001-10-01T20:22:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Although I don’t have any compelling scientific evidence to point to, I have a suspicion that, in generations to come, people will wonder what the hell we were all thinking, putting these devices to our skulls. > > What are the chances that, like the tobacco companies, mobile phone manufacturers are obfuscating or concealing the facts on the effects of their products on long term users? > > What I do know is that when I speak on a mobile phone for any significant length of time, I get a headache. Could that possibly be harmless to me? > > The frightening thought is that, given that cellular phones have only experienced widespread use in the past five to ten years, the cancer cases (should they arise) may not appear for years to come. > > Anyone have an opinion on this one? Maybe an extra layer on your tin-foil helmet might do the trick? As **sailor** sez - if you’re worried don’t use 'em! ---
**Author:** ![Caracticus\_Potts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@Caracticus\_Potts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caracticus_Potts)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/13 "2001-10-01T20:37:10Z")
It _will_ be interesting in ten or twenty years if there is an explosion among the cases of brain tumors in middle and later-aged people who used cell-phones. Will such a lucrative market go away (probably not) or will we simply accept it as a risk of using a convenient technology? Cars kill people, planes crash, but we still take the risk and use them. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/14 "2001-10-01T21:22:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > **It’s been suggested that the headset could actually be worse than holding the phone. The cable up to your head may act as the ideal conductor for any nasty radiation, channeling it directly into your ear.** Suggested by whom, other than you? ---
**Author:** ![rob\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@rob\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rob_s)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/15 "2001-10-01T21:35:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Suggested by whom, other than you? [http://www.which.net/campaigns/handsfree/hfkits.html](http://www.which.net/campaigns/handsfree/hfkits.html) This has been a v. hot topic over the last year or so. ---
**Author:** ![Caracticus\_Potts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@Caracticus\_Potts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caracticus_Potts)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/16 "2001-10-01T22:05:14Z")
If you want to worry about radiation in your home, worry about the cheap microwave oven sitting in your kitchen. They all have to meet certain standards when new, but the cheaper ones tend to have poorly secured doors which work loose and give off far more radiation that you’ll ever get from your cellphone. My brother was testing all the microwaves used by the school district, and almost all of them were giving off radiation above government standards. When he stopped by and tested mine (over ten years old) it was giving off twice that. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/17 "2001-10-02T05:27:43Z")
adam yax wrote: > [@](#): > > Of all the things on this planet somebody can worry about, headphones are way down on my list - next to demonic teddy bears. **BEGONE, O FOUL TEDDY BEAR OF SATAN!!** ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/18 "2001-10-02T11:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adam yax \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > > \*\*It’s been suggested that the headset could actually be worse than holding the phone. The cable up to your head may act as the ideal conductor for any nasty radiation, channeling it directly into your ear. > > \*\* > > Headphones of all sorts have been around for many years. Are incidents of ear cancer higher among walkman abusers? > Of all the things on this planet somebody can worry about, headphones are way down on my list - next to demonic teddy bears. \*\* Walkmans aren’t broadcasting radiowaves. It’s not the headphones that may be causing the problem, but what they’re attached to. I don’t know one way or another, just pointing out what some research has inconclusively suggested. The idea certainly seems plausible to me. The same thinking is behind the mobile (or cell as you 'mericans call them) phone ban at petrol (or gas) stations. There the worry is that a held petrol nossle may act as an aerial and may just possibly spark across to the pump, with the obvious results ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/19 "2001-10-02T13:24:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > **Walkmans aren’t broadcasting radiowaves. It’s not the headphones that may be causing the problem, but what they’re attached to.** Walkman and cell phone headphones work the same way. Electromagnetic is running down the wire from the device to your ear. Granted the source may be different, but the method of travel, and the end destiniation are identical. \*\* > [@](#): > > The same thinking is behind the mobile (or cell as you 'mericans call them) phone ban at petrol (or gas) stations. There the worry is that a held petrol nossle may act as an aerial and may just possibly spark across to the pump, with the obvious results \*\* Yes, and the same thing also keeps **ALL** electronics from being used during take-offs and landings of planes. Has there been any documented cases of gas stations blowing up due to a cell phone? How about plane crashes? ---
**Author:** ![sirjamesp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sirjamesp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirjamesp)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708/20 "2001-10-02T13:56:46Z")
A company in Scotland is selling a sticker that you put on the back of your 'phone to absorb any nasty radiation being broadcast by the 'phone. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid\_1574000/1574197.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid_1574000/1574197.stm) All inquisitive minds need to see the report (linked above), as it seems to contain all sorts of novel science! I am very impressed by this. It seems that a sticker on the back of your mobile can absorb or somehow neutralise radiation coming out of the front of your 'phone! Remarkable. J. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cellular-phones-the-asbestos-tobacco-of-our-time/84708.md?page=2)