Back to The Cell Phone Controversy – Rather be Safe than Sorry!

It's important to put the possible risk into context. Kurt Straif, MD, PhD, MPH, head of the IARC Monographs Program, notes that the IARC currently lists some 240 agents as "possibly carcinogenic," including dry cleaning fluid and some commonly used pesticides.

While the IARC doesn't make recommendations to consumers, Straif noted that there are precautions people can take.
"Some of the highest exposures come from using mobile phones for voice calls. If you text, or use hands-free devices, you lower exposure by at least 10-fold," Straif said at the news conference. "So this is left to consumers to consider whether this level of evidence is enough for them to take such precautions."
Otis W. Brawley, MD, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, notes that the IARC is a highly credible group. But Brawley echoes Straif's advice: People who are worried can reduce their risk (sound advice).
"On the other hand, if someone is of the opinion that the absence of strong scientific evidence on the harms of cell phone use is reassuring, they may take different actions, and it would be hard to criticize that," Brawley says in a news release.
John Walls, vice president for public affairs at CTIA, the trade group representing the wireless communications industry, notes that the IARC findings do not mean cell phones cause cancer -- and that the limited evidence on which the findings are based are far from conclusive.
"Based on previous assessments of the scientific evidence, the Federal Communications Commission has concluded that 'there’s no scientific evidence that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer.' The Food and Drug Administration has also stated that “the weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems,'" Walls notes in a news release.
Samet and colleagues will publish a summary of their findings in the July 1 issue of The Lancet, which is still in press.

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