Parents should restrict children's use of mobile phones, report says
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《英国医生杂志》
Parents need to be more cautious about allowing their children to use mobile phones, said a report launched by the National Radiological Protection Board this week.
Parents may want to encourage children to use text messages where possible, to reduce exposure to radiation, report says
Credit: STEVE MEDDLE/RES
The report is a continuation of work published in 2000 by the UK Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones ( BMJ 2000;320: 1358), and although this latest report denies there is decisive evidence to support the view that mobile phones are hazardous to health, the board's chairman, Sir William Stewart, admits that he is "more concerned" by the evidence presented to the panel this time around.
"In relation to radiation it often takes a long time for things to become obvious," said Sir William. "We have five years more information, and some of it suggests that 10 years down the line things may be beginning to show through."
The group acknowledges that members of the public are worried about the effects of exposure to radiation from mobile phones and masts, and although its findings do not wholeheartedly endorse these, it says that some studies suggest that prolonged exposure to mobile phone energy may affect cognitive functions, increase susceptibility to cancer, and damage DNA. The implications are sufficiently serious for the group to advocate caution until these findings can be properly consolidated and examined.
The report urges particular vigilance in relation to groups who may be more vulnerable, such as younger children. "Parents have a serious responsibility in this field," said Sir William. "They may want to ensure that children use text messages where possible and use a phone with a low SAR value." The specific absorption rate is the rate at which electromagnetic energy is imparted from headset to user.
Most mobile phone manufacturers now supply information relating to the specific absorption rate value of newly purchased phones. The government, through Ofcom (the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries), also measures the radiation emitted by mobile phone base stations.(Madeleine Brettingham)
Parents may want to encourage children to use text messages where possible, to reduce exposure to radiation, report says
Credit: STEVE MEDDLE/RES
The report is a continuation of work published in 2000 by the UK Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones ( BMJ 2000;320: 1358), and although this latest report denies there is decisive evidence to support the view that mobile phones are hazardous to health, the board's chairman, Sir William Stewart, admits that he is "more concerned" by the evidence presented to the panel this time around.
"In relation to radiation it often takes a long time for things to become obvious," said Sir William. "We have five years more information, and some of it suggests that 10 years down the line things may be beginning to show through."
The group acknowledges that members of the public are worried about the effects of exposure to radiation from mobile phones and masts, and although its findings do not wholeheartedly endorse these, it says that some studies suggest that prolonged exposure to mobile phone energy may affect cognitive functions, increase susceptibility to cancer, and damage DNA. The implications are sufficiently serious for the group to advocate caution until these findings can be properly consolidated and examined.
The report urges particular vigilance in relation to groups who may be more vulnerable, such as younger children. "Parents have a serious responsibility in this field," said Sir William. "They may want to ensure that children use text messages where possible and use a phone with a low SAR value." The specific absorption rate is the rate at which electromagnetic energy is imparted from headset to user.
Most mobile phone manufacturers now supply information relating to the specific absorption rate value of newly purchased phones. The government, through Ofcom (the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries), also measures the radiation emitted by mobile phone base stations.(Madeleine Brettingham)