Time to ring the changes on your mobile phone use
It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to making calls and texts
Irish people love their mobile phones but what impact will they have on our health as the years go by? Research is limited and so far there is no major cause for concern. But it is always better to play safe.
- Only make short calls on your mobile phone and do not use it more than necessary.
- Children should only use mobile phones if absolutely necessary.
- Find out the specific absorption rate of a mobile phone before you buy it. This is how much radio-wave energy is absorbed into the body from the mobile phone, and it can vary.
Retailers have a responsibility to make this information available to you before you buy.
- Keep your mobile phone away from your body when it is in standby mode.
- Only use your phone when the reception is strong. Weak reception causes the phone to use more energy.
- Don't cover the mobile phone with your hands when you are talking, this reduces its ability to give and receive signals.
- If you have a landline, use it.
- Use a mobile that has an external antenna.
- Keep your mobile phone switched off when you are driving.
- Avoid using a hands-free device when driving. These can be just as distracting as using the phone itself.
Studies have been carried out on mobile phones and so far there is no evidence to link short-term exposure (less than 10 years) to mobile phone use with cancers of the brain and nervous system.
However, the respected Stewart report in Britain noted that cancers are rarely detectable until 10 to 15 years after the cancer-producing event. Since relatively few people have used mobile phones for that long, it is too early to say definitively whether or not they are safe.
There is little research on the effects of mobile phones on children, who tend to be more sensitive than adults to many environmental agents, such as lead pollution and sunlight.
- Eilish O'Regan
