The telecommunication industry is even BIGGER than the drug industry, and they have more influence in Washington.
This is compounded by the fact that a large percentage of retirement funds from several powerful lobbying organizations are invested in telecommunications.
The cell phone industry is doing everything in their power to keep you in the dark about the emerging cell phone research, and the warning signs that wireless communications technologies are not safe.
Meanwhile, government agencies, similar to their stance on tobacco before the evidence became overwhelming, have essentially ignored all the danger signs.
Just like smoking tobacco, they fail to realize that it can take anywhere from 10 to 30 years for brain tumors to develop from cell phone exposure, so we are just now beginning to see some of the tragic effects of heavy cell phone use. The truth is, many believe we are on the verge of a brain cancer epidemic.
Devra Davis, PhD, visiting professor, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, has written a new book -- Disconnect -- in which she exposes research showing that radiation from cell phones has been linked to:
DNA damage
Memory loss
Alzheimer's disease
Cancer
Break down of your brain's defenses
Reduced sperm count
But this is all information the cell phone industry does not want you to know.
Listen Up: The First Warnings Have Already Been Issued
It's imperative that you are aware of the early warnings on the dangers of cell phones, as it can help you to stay a step ahead in protecting your health. Though not widely publicized in the United States, several countries, including Finland, Israel and France, have already issued guidelines for safer cell phone use.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), while distancing itself from any claims that cell phones cause health problems, also recently released steps you can take to reduce your exposure to radiofrequency energy from cell phones.
San Francisco legislation to go into effect May 1, 2011 actually requires education about such cell phone risks at the point-of-sale. Educational materials must "inform customers of actions that can be taken by cell phone users to minimize exposure to radiation, such as turning off cell phones when not in use, using a headset or speaker phone and texting." (Lines 15-17 of the final legislation.)
Andrea Boland, the Maine State Representative, also wanted warnings especially for children and pregnant women to keep cellular devices away from their head and body, but unfortunately a Maine legislative committee rejected her proposal, citing "inconclusive studies" and a concern about "raising fear in people."
In 2008, Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, also issued a warning to his faculty and staff urging them to limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. So there are plenty of warnings out there … the cell phone industry has just done a fairly good job at making sure they're not widely heard, or if they are heard that they are doubted.
The Best Way to Protect Yourself
When I use my cell phone when I am away from home I always use the speaker phone or our Blue Tube headset. I suggest you take these protective steps, too, as the best way to decrease your exposure to radiation is to use either the speakerphone or a safe headset when speaking on the phone, and to keep your phone as far away from your body as possible whenever it is on.
You should never carry your phone in your shirt pocket or on your belt, for example.
I also recommend that everyone who uses a cell phone follow these commonsense guidelines, and share them with your friends and family as well. Please do NOT wait for more evidence to come in … start protecting your brain and body from cell phone radiation starting today:
Children Should Always Avoid Using Cell Phones: Barring a life-threatening emergency, children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type. Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults, because of their thinner skull bones and other factors.
Reduce Your Cell Phone Use: Turn your cell phone off more often. Reserve it for emergencies or important matters.
Use a Land Line at Home and at Work: Although more and more people are switching to using cell phones as their exclusive phone contact, it is a dangerous trend and you can choose to opt out of the madness.
Reduce or Eliminate Your Use of Other Wireless Devices: You would be wise to cut down your use of these devices. Just as with cell phones, it is important to ask yourself whether or not you really need to use them every single time. Even portable home phones, including the older kind that operate at 900 MHz, can be a problem. The lesson from the field is that all DECT portable phones are a problem.
If you do not know if you have a DECT phone (as many are not labeled as such), the ONLY way to know for sure is to measure. You can learn about measuring instrumentation at
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For "hands free" calls at home, I recommend getting the old-fashioned speakerphone (either attached to the phone or separate) or using SKYPE on your computer on speaker mode, which is terrific.
With SKYPE you get a phone number that is portable, like with a cell phone, and you can also plug into a hard-wired Ethernet cord when you are traveling to receive messages and make calls (that is, unless you are using the Apple iPad, which unfortunately does not allow a hard-wired internet connection at all!).
Use Your Cell Phone Only Where Reception is Good: The weaker the reception, the more power your phone must use to transmit, and the more power it uses, the more radiation it emits, and the deeper the dangerous radio waves penetrate into your body. Ideally, you should only use your phone with full bars and good reception, and keep calls brief.
Also seek to avoid carrying your phone on your body as that merely maximizes any potential exposure. Ideally put it in your purse or carrying bag.
Turn Your Cell Phone Off When Not in Use: As long as your cell phone is on, it emits radiation intermittently, even when you are not actually making a call.
Keep Your Cell Phone Away From Your Body When it is On: The most dangerous place to be, in terms of radiation exposure, is near the emitting antenna. You do not want any part of your body near this area and proximity is everything. The closer the phone is to your body, the worse the exposure -- with the exposure falling off dramatically with distance. Thus, using the speaker mode, the farther you can keep the phone away from your body and still hear the call, the better.
Use Safer Headset Technology: Wired headsets will certainly allow you to keep the cell phone farther away from your body. However, if a wired headset is not well-shielded -- and most of them are not -- the wire itself acts as an antenna attracting ambient radio waves and transmitting radiation directly to your brain and your body, for example over your heart.
Make sure that the wire used to transmit the signal to your ear is shielded.
The best kind of headset to use is a combination shielded wire and air-tube headset. These operate like a stethoscope, transmitting the information to your head as an actual sound wave; although there are wires that still must be shielded, there is no wire that goes all the way up to your head. They can be obtained at
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