Still debating on cellphone - brain tumour relation

Mobile phones should carry a health warning like those on cigarette packets, scientists have warned.

The authorities must not make the same mistakes over possible links between mobile phones and brain cancer as they did with cigarettes and lung cancer, experts warned a powerful U.S. congressional committee.

It took 50 years to get the tobacco industry to acknowledge the risks, and 70 years to remove lead from paint and petrol, they said.

'Society must not repeat the situation we had with smoking and lung cancer, where we waited until every 'i' was dotted and 't' was crossed before warnings were issued,' said Professor David Carpenter, director of the institute of health and environment at the University of Albany.

'Precaution is warranted even in the absence of absolutely final evidence concerning the magnitude of the risk - especially for children.'

Dr Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute - one of the top U.S. cancer research centres - agreed and said: 'We must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk.'

He said that in countries such as Britain and the U.S., 'every child is using cell phones all of the time'.

The committee heard that scientists are split over how dangerous mobile phones are to users.

But Dr Herberman said that most studies claiming there is no link between mobile phones and brain tumours are outdated because many defined regular mobile phone use as once a week.

He added that most do not include enough long-term users because a brain tumour can take many years to develop.

Both experts told the committee the brain cancer risk from mobile phone use is far greater for children than for adults.

Dr Herberman produced a model showing how radiation from a mobile phone penetrates far deeper into the brain of a five-year-old than that of an adult.

The committee was shown a research paper published this month by the Royal Society in London which found that teenagers who start using mobile phones before the age of 20 are five times more likely to develop brain cancer at the age of 29 than those who did not use a mobile phone.

Another this year by a Swedish cancer specialist found that frequent cell phone users are twice as likely to develop a malignant tumour on the nerves of the ' handset ear' than on the other ear.

Dr Herberman said: 'I cannot tell you cell phones are definitely dangerous. But, I certainly cannot tell you that they are safe. Like the messages that warn of health risks on cigarette packs, cell phones need a precautionary message.'

Case study

Mother-of-three Ellen Marks blames her husband's malignant brain tumour on his mobile phone use.

Mrs Marks told the U.S. congressional hearing that her husband Alan, 56, found out he had a brain tumour on his right frontal lobe in May.

The tumour is on the same side of his head where he held his mobile, which he used about 30 hours a month. He had used one for around 20 years.

Mrs Marks, from California, said that for many years before his tumour was diagnosed, his behaviour changed dramatically, alienating his family.

He had had to take bi-polar medications and anti-depressants during those years.

He has been given a prognosis of around five years.

'I often threatened to throw the mobile phone into the garbage and how I wish I had,' she said.

'This horror could have been avoided with a simple warning.'