WHO Declares Cell Phones Possibly Carcinogenic

The International Agency for Research on cancer (IARC), a part of the World Health Organization (WHO) now classifies "radiofrequency electromagnetic fields" as "possibly" carcinogenic to humans.

We have seen quite a number of reports coming out of the WHO news release, some of which could scare you enough not to use your cell phone anymore. However, it is important to note that the WHO did not classify cellophanes as a known carcinogen, which would put it on the same level as tobacco, sunlight, wood dust or mineral oils.

Instead, cell phones are rated as "possibly carcinogenic", which compares their potential hazard to pickled vegetables or coffee. However, the WHO stated that there is a possibility that exposure to radiation caused by cell phones may cause long-term health risks, which means there is a case for relevance for the general public health given the fact that there are nearly 5 billion phones in use today.

While the WHO news release certainly got our attention, there is no new and no clear result, but additional doubt. We have seen dozens of studies that showed conflicting results over past years and we are used to reading about results that are favored by wireless industry organizations (no risk at all) and those that are pitched by environmental groups (high cancer risk). The takeaway so far is that there is no conclusive result whether there is an actual cancer risk or not as most surveys use different sample sizes to prove their claim.

Officially, however, your cell phone is now considered to be "possibly carcinogenic."