Getting practical about cell phones and cancer

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Getting practical about cell phones and cancer
-Posted by David Berlind @
2:27 pm†
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When the
occasional coverage regarding the potential connection between cell phones
and cancer crosses my radar, one thing I have noticed that these stories are
almost universally short on is actionable information.† One says there is a
connection.† One says there isn%u2019t a connection.††Another says the†the
jury is out.† So what? Given my options, what am I supposed to do with this
information? Although it%u2019s my opinion, I%u2019m about to tell you what
I%u2019m going to do with it.† What you do is, of course, up to you.
As an
educated guy†who prides himself on making practical decisions about my
personal safety and†the safety of†my family, I%u2019m still kicking myself
over my recent acquisition of two Motorola V265 cell phones %u2014 one for
me and one for my wife.†† According to CNET%u2019s list of the ten
highest-radiation cell phones in the U.S., the V265%u2013with a Specific
Absorbtion Rate (SAR) rating of 1.55 watts per kilogram (W/kg)%u2013is tied
for first place as the highest radiating phone on the American
market.††
Although I%u2019ve written about this ignorance on my behalf
before, I was motivated to research the topic further when I learned from
Walt Mossberg%u2019s Wall Street Journal online column of a new cell phone
from FireFly Mobile Inc. that%u2019s designed specifically for little kids.†
By the time I read it, I was already re-sensitized to the cell phone/cancer
issue by CNET senior editor Molly Wood%u2019s coverage regarding
similarities in the behavior of the tobacco and cell phone industries.
Wood%u2019s coverage is actually what made me realize that I had just
purchased some cell phones without checking their SAR ratings (something I
promised myself I%u2019d never do). So, with three kids whose safety
I%u2019m just anal about, my number one question about the new phone was
"What%u2019s the SAR rating?"
One thing I learned in the course of
researching this blog is that you have to be careful about who you present
that question to.† Some will automatically read between the lines and assume
that you might be basing your purchase decisions on this information and
they%u2019ll more or less tell you that doing so is a dumb idea.† So, before
I continue, let me make three things absolutely clear about the connection
between cell phone radiation and cancer %u2014 three facts that, for the
forseeable future, will guide my decision-making about handset p

<snip>
<http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/index.php?p=1318&tag=nl.e539>


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