That mighty rushing sound you just heard could well have been the global mobile phone industry letting out a collective sigh of relief. A Danish study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute today seems to show conclusively that cell phone use is not associated with a higher risk of cancer or any other disease.

The researchers studied the medical histories of  420,095 individuals  who had been using cell phones for at least 10 years and found no association between long or short term cell phone use with brain tumours, salivary gland tumours, eye tumours or leukaemia.

Medical experts like this study because the researchers used data from mobile phone company records rather than relying on individuals’ memories of how often they used their phones in the past. It has always seemed likely that the minute power output of a mobile phone was unlikely to cause disease, but such studies as have been done have proved inconclusive, leaving the industry with a shadow of doubt hanging over it. The Danish research should blow that away.

The industry is not out of the wood yet, however.  Some scientists argue the power output of the new third generation  base stations, significantly higher than second generation stations,  is enough to threaten the health of those living directly in the path of the beam.

London

December 5th, 2006 in Uncategorised | Permalink