For those who have stopped talking on their cell phones long enough to read this blog, there’s good news: You’re probably safer now that you’ve stopped talking. The bad news is that there’s a chance you could be irreparably harming your health via sustained exposure to cell phones’ electromagnetic radiation.

So far, much has been said, written and studied on this topic, with most research falling on the side of “Go ahead — make that call.” But some believe cell phones haven’t been around long enough to make a definitive case that they won’t eventually cause harm to our brains — in the form of cancer — due to continued, long-standing use.

Such fears were thrust again into the spotlight Thursday when Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, warned his faculty and staff to limit cell phone use due to the possibility that they might be inviting cancer by calling.Herberman’s was the first major academic cancer research institute to issue such an alarm. But there’s a first for everything, and this may not be the last.

Cancer isn’t the only possible harm which cell phones might cause. Previous studies have indicated cell phone use could cause genetic damage to the blood or acoustic neuroma, a  rare, non-cancerous tumor which hampers hearing. Other studies have shown cell phone use could increase the risk of brain tumors and lymphoma as well as cause oral cancer.

Of course, that’s not even mentioning the dangers cell phones cause just by distracting drivers. Those we’re sure about.

None of this is to say that cell phone use might not one day be found to be completely harmless. But at the same time, there’s no definitive proof yet that sustained use over many years might not cause major health problems. And remember, it was decades, if not centuries, before cigarettes finally were determined to be deadly cancer spreaders. Also, as Woody Allen satirized in Sleeper, some things are deemed dangerous one year and safe the next. So you never know.

For now, your best bet might be to limit cell phone calls to reasonable lengths, instead of yammering on and on indefinitely, and also get a headset, which enables you to avoid holding the cell phone closely to your head — part of the hangup for researchers with cancer concerns.

Beyond that, let’s take a wise wait and see on cell phones. After all, they do a superb job of linking the world and are almost unbeatable in an emergency. Yet one day they could emerge as a catastrophic problem, perhaps not on the level of Stephen King’s bloody book Cell, but catastrophic nonetheless.

Share on Facebook