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Consumer update
Consumer update
2 In study of 209 brain tumor cases and 425 matched controls, there was no increased risk of brain
tumors associated with mobile phone use. When tumors did exist in certain locations, however, they
were more likely to be on the side of the head where the mobile phone was used. Because this
occurred in only a small number of cases, the increased likelihood was too small to be statistically
significant.
4
In summary, we do not have enough information at this point to assure the public that
there are, or are not, any low incident health problems associated with use of mobile
phones. FDA continues to work with all parties, including other federal agencies and
industry, to assure that research is undertaken to provide the necessary answers to the
outstanding questions about the safety of mobile phones.
What is known about cases of human cancer that have
been reported in users of handheld mobile phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been diagnosed with brain cancer. But
it is important to understand that this type of cancer also occurs among people who have
not used mobile phones. In fact, brain cancer occurs in the U.S. population at a rate of
about 6 new cases per 100,000 people each year. At that rate, assuming 80 million users
of mobile phones (a number increasing at a rate of about 1 million per month), about 4800
cases of brain cancer would be expected each year among those 80 million people,
whether or not they used their phones. Thus it is not possible to tell whether any
individual’s cancer arose because of the phone, or whether it would have happened
anyway. A key question is whether the risk of getting a particular form of cancer is greater
among people who use mobile phones than among the rest of the population. One way to
answer that question is to compare the usage of mobile phones among people with brain
cancer with the use of mobile phones among appropriately matched people without brain
cancer. This is called a case-control study. The current case-control study of brain cancers
by the National Cancer Institute, as well as the follow-up research to be sponsored by
industry, will begin to generate this type of information.
What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of mobile
phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting consumer products
such as mobile phones before marketing, as it does with new drugs or medical devices.
However, the agency has authority to take action if mobile phones are shown to emit
radiation at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a case, FDA could require the
manufacturers of mobile phones to notify users of the health hazard and to repair, replace
or recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists.
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions at this time,
FDA has urged the mobile phone industry to take a number of steps to assure public
safety. The agency has recommended that the industry:
z support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by
mobile phones;
X70_US_Text.fm Page 141 Tuesday, March 9, 2004 1:21 PM