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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2011)
®*!* ^lortlanb (Obseruer Rage IO November 2. 2011 No Cancer Link to Cellphones Found Devices are probably safe, 111 N. Sumner November Deals! study finds All local produce! T u r n ip g r e e n s Mustard greens C ollard g r e e n s * all greens from Aurora,OR $0.89/bunch, $19.50/case Organic, Oregon Coast Cranberries 56.99/lb Local Acorn Squash $0.69/ea Open Mon-Sat 9am-8pm Sun 10am-7pm A d v ertise ^ g |M 8 f titv in Ilx Portland Observer Call 503-288-0033 ails port! andob server.com (AP) — Danish researchers can offer some reassurance if you're concerned about your cellphone: Don't worry. Your device is probably safe. The biggest study ever to examine the possible connec tion between cellphones and cancer found no evidence of any link, suggesting that bil lions of people who are rarely more than a few inches from their phones have no special health concerns. The Danish study of more than 350,000 people concluded there was no difference in can cer rates between people who had used a cellphone for about A cellphone call from a New York subway platform gives Mory Bailo Aw some last minute directions to a friend’s house. THE LAW OFFICES OF Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd Portland, O regon Portland: Hillsoboro: Facsimile: Email: (503) 244-2080 (503)244-2081 (503) 244-2084 Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com Dentures Worth Smiling About! • Professional Services • Affordable Prices • Over 20 years experience • Full & Partial Dentures • Natural Appearance • Full Service Lab • Accepting Oregon Health Plan Melanie Block, L.D. D enturist 503-230-0207 200 NE 20th Ave., Suite 100 Portland OR 97232 Free parking a decade and those who did not. Last year, a separate large study found no clear connec tion between cellphones and cancer. But it showed a hint of a possible association between very heavy phone use and glioma, a rare but often deadly form of brain tumor. However, the numbers of heavy users was not sufficient to make the case. T hat study o f m ore than 14,000 people in multiple coun tries, in addition to animal ex periments, led the International Agency for Research on Can cer to classify electromagnetic energy from cellphones as "pos sibly carcinogenic," adding it to a list that also includes things such as coffee and gasoline engine exhaust. But that designation does not mean the phones necessarily pose a risk. Cellphones do not emit the same kind of radiation as that used in some medical tests or found in other sources such as radon in soil. Two U.S. agencies — the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Com m unica tions Commission — have found no evidence that cellphones are linked to cancer. Yet fears of a link persist, despite the fact that cancer rates have not risen since cellphones were introduced. In the latest research, pub lished online in the journal BMJ, researchers updated a previous study e x a m in in g 3 5 8 ,4 0 3 cellphone users aged 30 and over in Denmark from 1990 to 2007. They found cellphone users did not have a higher can cer risk compared with those without cellphones. Cancer rates in people who I I I I I I Attn\ Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 I $60.00 for 6 months • $110.00 for 1 year • $200.00 for 2 years I (please include check with this subscription form) I I N ame : ______ _________________________ I T elephone : __________________________ _ I I A ddress : _____________________________ I I or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com S ubscribe! 503'288'0033 il,e jJortlanit (Dbsemer used cellphones for about 10 years were similar to rates in people w ithout a cellphone. Cellphone users were also no more likely to get a tumor in the part of the brain closest to where phones are usually held against the head. The study was paid for by the government's Danish Strategic Research Council. "Our study provides little evi dence for a causal association, but we cannot rule out a small to moderate increase in risk for subgroups of heavy users," said Patrizia Frei, of the Institute of C a n ce r E p id e m io lo g y in Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the paper's authors. "This is encouraging news, but it doesn't mean we're at the end of the road," said Hazel Nunn, head of Health Evidence and Information at Cancer Re search U.K., which was not linked to the study. About three-quarters of the world's population, more than 5 billion people, use a cellphone. That makes it difficult for sci entists to compare cancer inci dence in people who use the devices versus those who do not. Others disputed the Danish study's findings. The advocacy group MobileWise, which be lieves cellphones pose a health risk, said the study wasn't long enough to consider the long term risk, since brain tumors can take decades to develop.
