Mobile phones may have not been around for long but can you imagine life without one? How would you function and carry out your work and social activities? No doubt we feel safer and more connected to our loved ones, but do the benefits really outweigh the risks? As with all health scares we seem to have gotten bored of worrying about the potential health effects of mobiles and concerns about their use seem to have been conveniently brushed under the carpet. However, recent studies suggest links between long-term mobile phone use and a plethora of potential health problems.

Mobile phones operate by using radio waves, a form of non-ionizing radiation. Since mobile phone signal stations could be in any direction from the person using the mobile phones (the devices are designed to transmit radio waves in all directions in order to catch this signal, including a proportion towards the user’s body), leakage of radio waves onto the phone shell can also occur.

The radio waves that are directed towards the user’s head can penetrate up to a few centimetres and be absorbed into body tissues. When the waves are absorbed, the energy is transmitted to the body tissues and the energy from these waves and the body’s own metabolism add up. The body can accommodate this extra energy up to a certain level. However, when this threshold is crossed the extra energy becomes translated into temperature rises and thermoregulatory responses can occur. Certain people in the population can, for various reasons, be more susceptible to these heating effects of radio waves and their consequences.

Since an independent expert group in the UK (IEGMP- Stewart Report) first reviewed the evidence about the health effects of mobile phones in 2000, thousands of scientific papers researching the effects of radio waves on cells, tissues, humans and animals have been published.

The latest study on the health risks related to mobile phone use, the INTERPHONE study, conducted across 13 countries was published earlier this year. The authors reinforce: “The possible effects of long-term heavy use of mobile phones require further investigation". Because mobile phones have only been in widespread use for less than 20 years, the possibility of unrecognised longer term risks to health remains.

The scientific consensus is that, apart from the increased risk of a road accident due to mobile phone use when driving, there is no clear causal link between adverse health effects and mobile phone use. However recent studies postulate links between the long term use of mobile phones and increased risk of some brain or salivary gland tumours, decreased fertility, altered brain function and behaviour, decreased cognitive abilities and effects on the immune and cardiovascular systems.

Given all the uncertainties erring on the side of precaution is certainly warranted. In children and adolescents the head and nervous system are still developing, making it likely that these groups are more vulnerable than adults. Experts advise that children, especially those under the age of 16 should be discouraged from using mobiles except where making essential calls; children starting to use mobile phones early on in their lives will accumulate more years of exposure.

Do the benefits of mobile phones still outweigh the risks? It’s your call.