Friday, April 23, 2010

Mobile phones should not be used by under 12's says scientist launching Thirty year study into health risks!

'If a child is exposed to excessive sunlight, they are more likely to get skin cancer than an adult exposed to the same amount.

‘They are more sensitive to pollutants. There is a thinking that they might be at increased risk.’

He acknowledged that some parents may get peace of mind from giving their young child a mobile phone.

But he added: ‘I don’t see why with young children one shouldn’t be a little bit more firm as a parent and say there are reasons why they think it is not a good idea, unless there are specific safety reasons why it needs to be done.’

The recommendations come as the MTHR, of which he is still a member, launches a 30-year study tracking the mobile phone use and health of 250,000 Europeans, including 100,000 Britons.

Data on the number of calls and their duration will be compared with health records to determine if the mobiles trigger or exacerbate cancers, including those of the ear, skin and brain.

The multi-million-pound study will also look at whether they raise the chances of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, as well as strokes and heart disease and less serious conditions such as headaches and disturbed sleep.

No previous study has lasted as long or looked at such a wide range of diseases. The first results will be available in five years. It will also be the first time that data on call frequency and length will be provided directly by the mobile phone companies.

Past studies have relied on people remembering how much they used their phones, which can provide unreliable results.

The researchers, from Imperial College London, said the results of the work done up until now have been ‘reassuring’. But because dismarketeases such as cancer take many years to develop, and many people have only had mobile phones for about a decade, there are ‘ important gaps in our knowledge’.

More than half of under-tens now own a mobile, with some handsets specifically designed for children as young as four.