Cell Phone Study Finds No Short-Term Health Risks

A six-year study into the health risks from cellular phones in the UK indicates that while there are no short-term risks to health from phone usage, it is too early to say what long-term effects it may have.

The study, conducted by the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Program, was the largest of its kind in the UK. It found that there was no substantial change in brain function or higher incidence of brain cancer correlative to the use of mobile phones.

However, MTHR chairman Professor Lawrie Challis cautioned against making any overall judgments about the safety of cellular phones just yet. He noted that most cancers take about a decade to develop, which is longer than the period of study.

The governing committee of the program has suggested that more long-term research on the effects be taken up by its doctors.

"The results are so far re-assuring but there is still a need for more research, especially to check that no effects emerge from longer-term phone use from adults and from use by children," Challis added.

A separate study by MTHR is now looking into the effects of cellular radiation on children, involving about 200,000 subjects. Challis did not advise parents to prohibit children from using phones, saying that decision was up to the individual.

Either way, the UK study lends more credence to a growing sentiment that mobile phone radiation is generally harmless to the human body. But with cellular phone use becoming even more prevalent, doctors are still looking for more definitive answers.