​UC Berkeley Study Links Cellphones To Heightened Cancer Risk

BERKELEY, CA — Is cellphone use the new smoking?

Likely so, according to the findings of a new UC Berkeley study that nobody in our hyperconnected society will want to hear.

Researchers found a strong correlation between cellphone use and a heightened risk of developing cancerous tumors – even for moderate cellphone users.

The study was led by UC Berkeley researcher Joel Moskowitz, who serves as the UC Berkeley School of Public Health’s director, in partnership with Korea’s National Cancer Center, and Seoul National University, KTVU reports.

The use of cellphones for 1,000 hours over a 10-year period, which works out to about 17 minutes a day, is associated with a 60 percent increased risk of developing of tumors, the study said.

Brain tumors and head and neck cancer accounted for most tumors linked to cellphone use according to meta-analysis researchers conducted.

The study’s authors acknowledged that additional more comprehensive research is warranted.

“Further quality prospective studies providing higher level of evidence than case-control studies are warranted to confirm our findings,” the study’s authors concluded.

Moskowitz has been sounding the cellphone safety alarm for more than a decade.

He told UC Berkeley’s official news outlet that he believes the powerful telecommunications industry’s tight grip on the FCC and lawmakers has stopped additional research he’s advocated for in its tracks.

He compared the tactics employed by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) to those Big Tobacco used for decades to conceal health risks associated with smoking.

“Yes, there are strong parallels between what the telecom industry has done and what the tobacco industry has done, in terms of marketing and controlling messaging to the public,” Moskowitz said.

“In the 1940s, tobacco companies hired doctors and dentists to endorse their products to reduce public health concerns about smoking risks. The CTIA currently uses a nuclear physicist from academia to assure policymakers that microwave radiation is safe.

“The telecom industry not only uses the tobacco industry playbook, it is more economically and politically powerful than Big Tobacco ever was. This year, the telecom industry will spend over $18 billion advertising cellular technology worldwide.”

Moskowitz acknowledged that considering the extent to which smartphones are integral to daily life in today's world, the findings of his study linking cellphone us to cancer is unlikely to find a receptive audience.

“People are addicted to their smartphones,” said Moskowitz. “We use them for everything now, and, in many ways, we need them to function in our daily lives. I think the idea that they’re potentially harming our health is too much for some people.”