Hazards of Cell Phone-Use

Introduction:

Almost everyone uses a cell phone and everyone claims that their closest one is a cell phone. Some households do not even have a landline and cell phones are the main mode of tele-conversation. There are certain realities that everyone must know about cell phones. CDMA, GSM and 3G work in micro-waves. Till recently, very less information on toxic effects of technology is known. Excess use of cell phone, i.e., more than 90 minutes a day is believed to produce undesirable health effects. At a given time, long conversations on cell phones leads to serious effects. While the mobile phone industry often says that studies have proved the devices safe, the researchers noted that these studies tend to look only a short-term exposure, whereas radiation-related health problems may often take up to a decade before symptoms develop.

1. What are the un-desirable effects of cell phones on Human body?

a. Health hazards:- One experiment, two phones are kept few inches away from each other with an egg placed in b/w them. And then, a call was made b/w the phones for more than 30 minutes. The experiment had shown, after 30 minutes, the egg was found boiled. You can imagine what happens to the human brain!!

b. Tumors in brain & ear: It was observed that prolonged use of cell phone is associated with development of tumor both in brain and ear. The commonest known tumor is known is acoustic neuroma. Modern phones like i-phones have more radiation than simple phones.

c. Early Hypertension: Most people get programmed to ring tones in week days. That means, whenever you hear the ring tone your heart rate increases by an 8 to 15 beats without any physical activity. This is because of stimulation of limbic system of brain. This also amounts to increased cardio-vascular reactivity. Thus, increased risk for early hypertension. It does produce irritation, anger and sleeplessness, which are the risk factors for hypertension.

d. Postural Problems- We often see people with their phones stuck between the ear and the shoulder while drawing, this not only causes abnormal dynamics of cervical spine in the neck and a tremendous traffic hazard to everybody. We have already recorded many cases of a abnormal neck pains and early painful syndromes among people who constantly use cell phones.

e. Use of Earphones- Ear phones and Bluetooth are not free from problems. There is radiation (micro-wave) and effects on hearing are same as cell phone. You may check your phone now, how mush volume you are using (probably full). Prolonged phone use reduces hearing for low volume of voice as early as within 2-3 weeks. That’s why we ultimately keep the volume of our phone to maximum. Ear phones, hands free cables with FM radios during walking and jogging also cause serious trouble to ear and the brain. Ear serves like a ventilator and dissipates some heat generated from head; this is more during exercise. Use of these during exercise can increase the risk of hearing loss, early hypertension and headache.

f. Mobile Phone Use Boosts Cancer Risk by 50 Percent: According to a new study conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, heavy users of mobile phones are 50 percent more likely to develop cancer of the salivary glands. Researchers studied 500 Israelis who had tumors of the salivary gland, and compared their cell phone usage to 1300 Israelis who did not have such tumors. They found that those who use cellular phones several hours per day against the same side of the head had a 50 percent higher tumor risk than those who used phones less frequently. Rural residents with heavy mobile phone use had an even higher tumor risk, compared with urban users. The researchers speculated that this could be due to the higher radiation dose needed for mobile phones to function in areas with fewer towers.

g. Decreased Male Fertility: In 2007, research at the Cleveland Clinic found that men who used cell phones for more than four hours per day had markedly poorer sperm quality than their counterparts with lower cell phone usage. On top of that, sperm in men would actually be further away from cell phones, and also be protected by a few layers of human tissue. However, despite these factors, the findings of this study still offer cause for concern, and men, especially those planning to start a family, may want to keep their cell phones as far away from their reproductive parts as possible.

h. Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): Now you see every one passing their time on typing “sms” and millions of these finger clicks lead to the development of micro injuries in the small joints of fingers. By two decades, children may develop serious RSI and increased risk for early arthritis.

2. What are the Social effects of Cell Phone?

a. Addiction: Cell phone use does produce long term undesirable effects such as addiction more in teenagers. Messaging and face-book chatting etc make them vulnerable for addiction leading more exposure.

b. Micro organisms spread by cell phones: According to study published in “Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials”, the cellular phones that hospital doctors and nurses bring to work are widely contaminated with dangerous pathogens, even when the health workers wash their hands regularly, a new study has found. These mobile phones could act as a reservoir of infection which may facilitate patient-to-patient transmission of bacteria in a hospital setting." Researchers tested the dominant hands and mobile phones of 200 doctors and nurses in hospital intensive care units and operating rooms for bacteria capable of causing illness. While most of the health care workers followed hand washing guidelines, 95 percent of their phones tested positive for at least one dangerous form of bacteria. Almost 35 percent of phones contained two bacterial strains, while more than 11 percent contained three or more. A full 12.5 percent of phones tested positive for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). If MRSA invades deep tissue or spreads beyond the skin to other organs, complications can include skin necrosis, disfiguring abscesses, blood infections, pneumonia and even death. It is particularly dangerous to those in a weakened state, such as hospital patients. While doctors and nurses might be exposed to dangerous bacteria in the course of their work, they might then carry them home on their phones and expose others to danger, the researchers warned.

c. High Tension currents and cell phones: Most of our cities have high tension cables with their huge towers passing through the city. This is due to expansion of urban areas in to out-field and encroaching them in to city areas. One case recorded where person was under 40,000 volts electrical line passing above, as soon as he clicked the phone digital camera? 40,000 volt current passed through the camera flash light to his camera and then from his camera to his fingers and then from his fingers to his body. All this happened within fraction of minutes. Next moment he was thrown from the top. His body was half burned on the spot. Phone and camera flash became conductors of huge currents then harming him.

d. Teenagers: Cell phone became an easy tool of communication for teens; one can send an sms straight and wait or response contrary to yester years, lot of efforts were need to one gets closer to the other. This needless communication diverts these tender minds from their education, responsibilities and morals causing concern for parents. Communication through phone is much easier than verbal communication and younger generation tend to communicate lies with a greater ease.

e. Traffic hazards: Any number rules and regulations cannot stop people from using cell phones during driving; worst is talking on a phone while driving two-wheeler. In a fraction of a second, accident can happen; many such accidents are witnessed all over the world.

f. Discarded Mobile Phones Create an Avalanche of Toxic E-Waste: We keep changing our phones every year. According to British newspaper The Independent, there are already 11,000 tons of unused cellular phones in the United Kingdom that have not yet been disposed of. Most of these phones will eventually be discarded, along with old laptops, portable music players and video game consoles. These electronic products are made with highly toxic metals and other chemicals that leach into the earth when discarded. The problem today is that people upgrade their mobile phones every year and only a small percentage of these phones are disposed of safely, about more than 100 million people upgrade to new phones each year in Europe alone, even though the average handset has a life of 5 years. The prevalence of recycled phones is expected to increase as the problem of e-waste enters the public consciousness and stricter regulations force more companies to tackle the problem.

g. Cell Phones and Fire hazards: Shell has announced many episodes of fire accidents took place while filling petrol to vehicles. When call get’s through, there is electric spark enough to ignite petrol. There are safe guidelines issued with that effect.

3. What are the Adverse Health Impact of Cell Phones on Children?

a. Many of our young ones are using cell phones today, sometimes for hours at a stretch earlier this year. It found that 89% of teens and 100% of employees use cell phone. As per UCLA's School of Public Health, children are more susceptible to any potential dangers because their nervous systems are still in development. It is thus possible that the radio frequency emissions from the phones could cause other health issues in other parts of the body – for example, the central nervous system could be affected, thereby having a negative impact on learning or behavior, or cancers could result in organs other than the brain.

b. Head size: Then there is also the matter of head size. While radiation from a cell phone only travels about 2 inches into the brain of an adult, it goes beyond the center of a child's brain. That's deep impact.

c. Behavioral Problems in Children: There are studies which reveal the negative impact of cell phones on the health of the young ones. The study on 13,000 Danish children discovered that those children who used cell phones and whose mothers had used cell phones during their pregnancy had 80% higher incidence of behavioral issues. These include emotional issues, hyperactivity, lack of attention and problems with their peers. But their mothers with cell phones during pregnancies had 54% higher incidence of such problems in their children.

d. Cancer in Children: When we combine the "cancer" and "children" of cell phone use, the result is even more frightening and shocking. A recent study conducted in Sweden revealed that children and teenagers who use cell phones have five times the risk of getting brain cancer. The study, revealed that "people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20" had more than five times the incidence of glioma, the cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system. In addition, these young cell phone users have five times the risk of getting acoustic neuroma, which is a disabling tumor of the auditory nerve that often causes deafness. Further, the study revealed that cordless phones increased cancer risk greatly too – the corresponding increase in risk of glioma being four-fold instead of five.

e. The Worst May Be Yet To Come – More Research Is Needed: We already have some indications of the dangers of cell phone use, particularly in affecting children and teenagers as well as in raising cancer risk. Dr Vini Khurana, an Australian neurosurgeon, recently published a paper on the Internet which stated that phone use "has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking". Having analyzed data from more than 100 different studies, he concluded that most of them did not cover timeframes long enough to measure the potential impact on brain cancer risk.

f. What Next For Us? It is possible that short-term exposure to hand phones is safe.
The problem is, our exposure is hardly "short-term" anymore. So many people today are using cell phones. Not only that, we use them frequently and for long periods. The young ones have started using cell phones at a relatively tender age, too, where it is believed they will be more susceptible to any possible health risks. With cell phone technology still rather new, and the overall lack of long-term research on its dangers to health, it is surely better to be safe rather than sorry.

Cell phone is a wonderful gadget and extremely useful when used judiciously and with great care to avoid physical, mental and social hazards.

4. How to use cell phones judiciously

a. Phone is meant for a short conversation. Limit your calls to a standard pulse (1-3 minutes).

b. Whenever possible, use loud speaker so that you can keep your phone away from your head; keep the phone at least 6 inches away from body.

c. Use lesser volume.

d. Keep your phone away from your chest (it may interfere the conduction system of heart) and away from the groin (only for men).

e. Some people answer only missed calls (not a bad idea).

f. Screen your calls and priorities your calls. You never know, you may be wasting a lot of time by attending un-important calls.

g. Never use a phone when it is being charged, it may explode (at least 5 fatal cases recorded recently).

h. Cut down texting.

i. The researchers advised that health care workers regularly swab their phones with alcohol-based disinfectants or anti-microbial substances. They concluded that banning cell phones from hospitals would be impractical, since the phones are now frequently used for work purposes during emergencies.

J. Four Rules for Safe Refueling

1) Turn off the engine

2) Don't smoke

3) Don't use your cell phone - leave it inside the vehicle or turn it off

4) Don't re-enter your vehicle during fueling

k. Dispose it safely: do not add it to e-waste; Use phones for longer periods (5 years)

l. Do not give phones to children early in life as the exposure to phones is going to increase

Things you never knew your cell phone could do...

1. During emergency, dial worldwide 112. If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network, the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 which can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.


2. If keys are locked in the car with remote keys

If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors.

3. Emergency Battery power
Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call
and you don't have a charger. Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

4. How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: type * # 0 6 #; a 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

Prof Dr S Bakhtiar Choudhary

E-mail: sbakhtiar@hotmail.com,

www.bakhtiarchoudhary.com