Study Shows Kids Won't Get Cancer From Cell Phones
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Can cell phones really cause cancer in kids? A new study says it's settled the debate: they're safe.
Kai Jackson has the findings and why some experts still aren't convinced.
The study should put parents and their children at ease. Yet some say even if mobile phone use is deemed safe doesn't mean they should be used as much as they are.
They're popular with adults and now a growing number of kids not yet teenagers also use them.
Mobile phones are big business but their safety has been questionable. Now a European study concludes that using a mobile phone for a few years doesn't raise a child's risk of brain cancer.
"I like to call my mom after activities, text my friends, see what they're doing," said Rebecca Greenwald.
Researchers looked at hundreds of brain cancer patients and say they were not more likely to have been regular mobile phone users.
"I've read studies that say it does and studies that say it doesn't and honestly, I'm more concerned about the stuff I'm breathing in living in the city than my cell phone which I don't even talk on all that much," said Sophie Grossman, Johns Hopkins junior.
Critics say the study falls short because it doesn't look at the long-term impact of mobile phone use.
"The question is the child that begins using the cell phone at seven or age 12, when they're 47, after four decades of using the cell phone, is their risk of brain cancer higher?" said Dr. Keith Black, Cedars-Sinai neurosurgeon.
There's speculation children may be more susceptible because their skulls are thinner and more radiation could penetrate the brain tissue.
"Long term use of anything could have an effect but no, I haven't really changed my cell phone usage," said Nayasha Felder, Morgan State University senior.
In May, the World Organization Panel concluded in a different study that it's possible mobile phones could cause cancer.
