The war rages on about the safety of cell phones. Depending
on which side of the argument you listen to, there’s either
nothing to fear, or your phone is causing grave harm when it
comes into close contact with your body. Where does the real
truth lie?
The year 2014 marked the first time in history that there
were officially more mobile devices than people in the world –
approximately 7.2 billion.
Although significantly lower, the number of cell phone users
is forecast to reach 4.77 billion by the year 2017.
That’s a lot of cell phones and cell phone users. But what’s
even more fascinating about all these mobile devices is the
behavior that surrounds them:
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults own a smartphone and
over 250 million of them use their phones an average of six
days a week
The average cellphone owner checks their phone 110 times
a day, or about nine times each hour
A whopping 46 percent of smartphone owners say “they
couldn’t live without” their phones
As of December, 2015, 47 percent of homes used only cell
phones
More than about half of U.K. cell phone users suffer
from “nomophobia,” or the fear of being without their phone
(and the number may be even higher for American users)
Clearly, cell phones aren’t going away anytime soon. I use my
smartphone every day, too. But how I use mine most likely
differs from how the typical user uses theirs…
The Enigma of Cell Phone Safety
Most conventional experts don’t view cell phone exposure as a
problem, mainly because they only look at one component of cell
phone safety.
Their focus is on the thermal effects of cell phones
and how your body absorbs the radiofrequency energy. The
industry insists that because the energy of the fields is too
low to cause heating of tissues, it can’t have any biological
effect.
These thermal or tissue heating effects are measured and
assigned a rating known as SAR, which stands for Specific
Absorption Rate.
When buying a wireless phone, the industry suggests you
compare ratings and purchase one with a lower rating.
Please understand that the SAR rating by itself is virtually
worthless.
The SAR level only estimates the heat from the radiation
penetrating into your head from a cell phone – just ONE
component of concern!
The SAR level does not measure the risk from the
frequencies of the cell phone, the erratic pulsing and
modulation of the signals, or the magnetic fields created by the
batteries.
Scientists now know that many of the effects from cell phones
are non-thermal. In other words, they occur at levels
too low to cause significant heating to tissues.
What You Need to Know About Cell Phone Radiation
The frequency of a cell phone’s waves falls between those
emitted by FM radios and those from microwave ovens, all of
which are considered “non-ionizing” forms of radiation.
When you make a call, text, or use data on your cell phone,
here’s what happens:
Your phone sends radiofrequency, or RF waves from its antenna
to nearby cell towers, and receives RF waves in return to its
antenna.
If you are holding the phone next to your face, as most
people do, then about 70 percent of the energy from the antenna
is absorbed straight into your head.
As you can see from the diagram below, age makes a difference
in how much of this energy can be absorbed into the tissue. A
younger child’s skull is much thinner than an adult’s and still
developing, therefore more radiation is able to penetrate the
brain.
It's not until around age 20 that your brain is fully
developed.
These visual images should serve as a powerful reminder to
parents that it’s never a good idea to allow a child to talk on
a cell phone held close to the head!
As you move your cell phone away from your head, this
radiation decreases rapidly. So, clearly, the further away from
your body you can keep your phone, the better.
Incidentally, the manufacturer of one of the top-selling cell
phones advises against direct body contact with their phones.
This is what they say right on their website:
“To reduce exposure to RF energy, use a hands-free
option, such as the built-in speakerphone, the supplied
headphones, or other similar accessories. Carry phone at
least 5mm away from your body to ensure exposure levels
remain at or below the as-tested levels.”
One of the most important bits of advice I can give you is to
avoid holding your phone directly against your head, especially
while your call connects – which is when the
power surge is greatest.
Using your speakerphone function or a safe headset to keep
your phone a safe distance away from your body is a much better
option.
But Why Does the Wireless Industry Still Insist Cell Phones
Are Safe?
You can search online and find study after study that says
cell phone usage is safe. The wireless industry claims that
thousands of studies have failed to pinpoint adverse
effects.
But, is that really true?
First you need to dig deep and find out who funded
the study. If it’s an industry-funded study, the results
presented are just about guaranteed to favor the industry. Why
would they publish results that didn’t?
But just because countless studies might conclude “no risk
found,” it doesn’t mean those were the real scientific
findings of the investigation!
Dr. Henry Lai, a University of Washington scientist in
cellular and molecular engineering, reviewed 85 papers on the
DNA-damaging effects of cell phone radiation. He and his
colleague had found from their own research that cell phone
radiation could cause DNA damage in brain cells.
What did he find when he took a closer look at these studies?
A whopping three-fourths of the papers that showed no toxic
effects were funded either by the wireless industry or the
military. Eighty percent of those that showed potential negative
effects were not linked to the industry.
Even Time reported:
Independent studies on cell phone radiation found dangers
at more than twice the rate of industry-funded studies.
We’re talking about a very lucrative industry here… The total
revenue of the U.S. mobile wireless industry is over
$171 billion!
Could it be that the wireless industry may be twisting
science just enough to dodge or at least postpone regulation?
They do have a lot at stake...
The 2011 Ruling That Delivered a Major Blow to the Wireless
Industry
As cell phone usage around the world expands, evidence
continues to mount against their safety, even though the
industry still insists cell phones are safe.
Possibly the biggest blow to the industry came in 2011 when
the International Agency for research on Cancer (IARC), an arm
of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared cell phones a
Class B carcinogen.
This classification puts cell phones squarely in the same
category of certain pesticides and heavy metals as well as
engine exhaust.
But that’s not all… There are now more than 20,000
publications in the scientific literature that show significant
biological effects at exposures well within safety standards,
including about 4,000 that include non-thermal effects.
How Cell Phones Impact Your Cells’ Energy Centers – Your
Mitochondria
Your body uses electrical fields to communicate between your
cells. The electromagnetic fields emitted by the phones are far
more damaging to your body because they interfere with your
body’s own cellular communication.
Another major way cell phones can potentially impact you is
through their effect on your mitochondria within your cells.
Most of your cells have several hundred mitochondria. Over 90
percent of the energy that your body needs to function properly
comes from the mitochondria, so their well-being is essential to
your energy production.
Not only are they your body’s primary source of energy, your
cells’ mitochondria determine the speed at which your body ages.
If your mitochondria are working optimally, your body ages at a
normal rate.
Researchers have discovered that the radiation from cell
phones can harm your mitochondria, including flipping certain
genes within the mitochondria.
As important as your mitochondria are to your health, this
potential damaging effect on genes is very concerning to me.
Is the Newest Technology Any Safer?
Industry tries to assure us that third and fourth generation
cell phones are safer in terms of non-ionizing radiation.
But are they really?
There’s no proof that 3G or 4G is any safer, and if anything,
the preliminary research suggests they may be even less safe.
Here’s the problem…
Today’s standards for radiofrequency emissions weren’t
designed for cell phones.
Rather, the current federal standards were developed to guard
against thermal effects, but remember, as I explained above,
that’s not the issue. As we’ve already seen, most of the studies
on cell phones show non-thermal effects.
What’s worrisome now is that evidence is suggesting exposure
to cell phone radiation can have biological effects without
raising temperature.
Radio frequency waves from cell phones have also been shown
to produce “stress” proteins in human cells, proteins that the
body produces for self-protection.
I agree that getting rid of your cell phone is probably not
an option these days. Today's cell phones are much more than
phones – they’re often your camera, video recorder, hand-held
computer, and your lifeline to staying in touch with your work
and family.
But with all this distressing data and questionable research,
there must be something we can do to help minimize exposure. I
believe there is…
How to Minimize Cell Phone Radiation Emissions
So what can you do to make cell phone usage safer for
yourself and your family?
First and foremost, I recommend you consider not allowing
your child or pre-teen to have a cell phone.
For teens, I encourage you to educate them on the dangers of
holding or storing a cell phone close to their bodies and to
remind them to use a safe headset if they need to make a call.
And, no one should ever use one while driving,
including texting.
Here are some additional suggestions for minimizing your
exposure to cell phone radiation:
Reduce your cell phone usage. Turn your
phone off when you don’t need it.
Use your cell phone on speakerphone whenever
possible. Avoiding contact with your head is the
most important safeguard you can take.
Keep your phone as far away from your body as
possible. There's a significant drop-off in
radiation exposure for every inch your phone is away from
your body.Don’t stow your cell phone in
your pocket!
Don’t place your phone against your head while
the call is connecting. This is when your phone is
sending out its strongest signal and you don’t want
this surge of radiation penetrating your head!
Use a landline at home and at work.
Just because everyone else goes cordless, you don’t need to.
Avoid using your cell phone if reception is
poor. The weaker the reception, the more power your
phone uses to transmit, and the more exposure you receive.
Limit cell phone use in your car. The
metal parts of your car – the roof, doors, and chassis can
magnify the radiation. Plus, your phone has to work harder
and increase its transmitting strength as you travel between
cell towers.
If you must make a call unprotected, limit it to
less than two minutes. Radiation exposure is
dose-related. The longer you spend on your phone, the more
potentially harmful microwave radiation you’re exposed to.
Use low-power Bluetooth® technology
or a headset to keep your phone away from your body.
But just remember that if you use your Bluetooth®
or headset a lot, you are still exposed to radiation right
near your head.
For the ultimate in safety, use an air tube
headset that’s specially designed to reduce cell phone
radiation near your head. In just a minute, I’ll
tell you about the one I use.
Why I’ll Only Use a Headset That’s Specially Designed to
Reduce Radiation
Before I carefully studied this issue, I used my cell phone
regularly and thought my off-the-shelf headset protected me from
my phone’s emissions.
However, I soon discovered that:
Cell phones emit a radiation plume.
Most cell phone headsets have a wire that can act like
an antenna and magnify the radiation emissions all the way
to the earpiece.
The wireless industry – and the government – is
suppressing a great deal of scientific data to protect
multi-billion dollar profits.
And then I saw this alarming evidence… Through the use of
thermographic imaging, scientists can see the changes take place
inside your brain when you use a cell phone directly against
your head.
Instead of seeing “cool” blues and greens that are present in
your brain when you're not exposed to cell phone radiation,
scientists saw reds, yellows and oranges which graphically
display internal heating of your tissues and cells after only 15
minutes of cell phone use.
Until recently, scientists believed that these changes and
cell phone-related interference with brain waves and brain
chemistry ended when the call ended. Now they know it can last
for up to an hour.
Today I refuse to talk on any cell phone unless
I am using a speakerphone or headset designed to reduce
radiation. I simply refuse to ever put the
phone next to my head.
The Evolution of My Blue Tube Headset
For at least the last 15 years, I've been convinced that cell
phone radiation is a real concern for all of us. That's why I
first introduced the RF3 Headset to help you minimize your
radiation exposure.
The comparison below shows the difference between traditional
headsets and my Blue Tube Headset with advanced Aircom 2
technology. With the Blue Tube, you
avoid the radiation common with traditional headset antennas.