Increasing Danger From Cell Phones

June 8, 2008

More and more Americans are eliminating their landlines in favor of wireless

phones, and as such are having increasing exposures to cell phone dangers.

Nearly one in six households are now wireless-only, according to a new

survey by the National Institutes of Health.

About 14.5 percent of adults, or 32 million Americans, live in wireless-only

households, as do 10 million children. In 2006, less than one in eight

adults lived in wireless-only households, and in 2004, only one in 18 adults

did,

so the trend is clearly increasing.

The greatest indicator of who is likely to live in a wireless-only household

is age. Nearly a third of those aged 18-29 have no land lines, as opposed to

people aged 30-44 (15.5 percent), 45-64 (8 percent), and 65 or older (only

2.2 percent).

Even among households that still have both landlines and mobile phones, over

22 percent received " all or almost all " calls on mobile phones. In all, over

13 percent of households are â€œwireless-mostly.â€

Sources:

* _Ars Technica May 14, 2008_

(http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080514-more-americans-snipping-landlines\

-in-favor-of-cell-phones.html)

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Folks, this is a disaster in the making, especially for the next generation.

Itâ€™s very telling that younger adults are the most likely age group to have

only cell phones and no land lines at all. The situation is going to worsen

as this progressively becomes the norm. Many children in the generation

currently being born will be raised with no other type of phone except their

cell

phones. This puts them in grave danger.

New research has shown that children, because of their developing brains,

are _particularly vulnerable to the radiation emitted by cell phones_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/30/children-should-n\

ot-use-c

ell-phones-but-my-today-show-interview-does-not-support-that.aspx) . Current

evidence suggests that if this trend continues, it will contribute to an

epidemic of brain cancer, _autism_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/11/27/how-cell-phones-m\

ay-cause-autism.aspx) , Alzheimerâ€™s

disease, and other serious health problems.

A Wireless World

But even if you do not own a cell phone, or use it only for emergencies, you

and your children are not entirely safe. Cell phones are simply one aspect

of a much broader problem. Almost all wireless technology carries with it the

same risks. If you use a wireless internet connection, a PDA, or a portable

cordless home telephone, you are exposing you and your family to the exact

same danger.

In fact, portable home phones are actually more dangerous than cell phones.

With the exception of a few older models, portable phones broadcast

constantly, even when you are not making a phone call (cell phones also

broadcast when

you are not making a call, but intermittently). If you sleep with a portable

home phone next to your bed, you are being bathed in a constant stream of

dangerous electromagnetic radiation.

For that matter, even if you avoid wireless devices entirely, you are being

exposed to electromagnetic radiation right now, whether you are aware of it

or not. The wireless infrastructure that enables cell phones to work -- as

well as other wireless technologies -- is now so extensive that exposure for

most people is almost unavoidable.

The world is already showing the early signs of an _epidemic of brain

cancer_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/03/21/cordless-phones-i\

ncrease-your-brain-cancer-risks.aspx) -- an epidemic that is expected by

some scientists to grow to 500,000 cases in 2010 and over 1 million cases

in the United States alone in 2015. Those who avoid brain cancer may find

themselves battling other health problems both major and minor, such as

headaches

and dizziness, Alzheimerâ€™s disease, autism and even impotence.

What Causes the Damage?

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum used by cell phones and other

wireless devices to communicate does not occur naturally on the earthâ€™s

surface --

logically, it has to be, or there would be too much interference for cell

phones to work.

In particular, the extremely low-frequency waves used to actually carry your

voice or other data, known as Information Carrying Radio Waves, are not

frequencies that you would ever encounter in a natural form on earth. Because

of

this, your body has not made any biological adaptation to protect you from

electromagnetic radiation in these frequencies.

More importantly, the very rarity of these frequencies on the earthâ€™s

surface made them ideal ones for your body to use as an internal communication

system, for the same reason that cell phones use them -- a lack of

interference.

But now that man-made wireless communication is widespread, there is a great

deal of interference.

Your cells have two types of receptors: chemical receptors and vibrational

receptors. Chemical receptors respond to biochemical signals, but vibrational

receptors are microscopic cilia, little hair-like sensors that respond to

electromagnetic vibrations. When an Information Carrying Radio Wave hits a

ciliary vibrational receptor, the receptor resonates. Since this form of

radiation does not occur naturally, your cells do not recognize it, and treat

it as a

potential threat. They respond by sealing themselves off, effectively

shutting down their ability to communicate with other cells.

This reaction evolved as a short-term response to immediate danger; it was

never designed to protect against the persistent signals of wireless

communication. Soon, these sealed off cells start starving for lack of

nutrients.

Toxins, heavy metals, and free radicals build up inside of them, because the

cell can no longer excrete them.

The intercellular communication breakdown can impair or destroy the

function of whole tissue systems and organs. Soon, cells become damaged, and

over

the long term, this damage can have serious effects, especially in your complex

and delicate brain -- which, unfortunately, is right next to where most

people hold their cell phones.

There are other dangers, as well. Information Carrying Radio Waves piggyback

on carrier waves, which operate at a much higher frequency. The effects of

carrier waves are extremely subtle and hard to detect, but that does not make

them any less dangerous.

The DNA in each of your cells contracts and extends like a coil several

billion times per second, and these contractions create a timing system that

regulates the activity of your metabolic enzymes. Carrier waves, however,

operate

on the exact same frequency as your DNA, and can cause interference that

interrupts this fragile and crucial form of communication. The complex timing

of your bodyâ€™s biological processes are being disrupted by your cell phone.

The effects of both the carrier waves and the Information Carrying Radio

Waves can lead to serious, _serious medical and health problems_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/16/can-cell-phones-gi\

ve-you-insomn

ia.aspx?PageIndex=2) , up to and including degenerative brain disease and

damaged, and potentially cancer-causing, DNA in your cells.

Protect Yourself

While you cannot completely avoid wireless radiation, there are certainly

some steps you can take to minimize your exposure and reduce your risks.

Children Should Never Use Cell Phones: Barring a life-threatening emergency,

children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type.

Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults, because

of

their thinner skull bones.

Reduce Your Cell Phone Use: Turn your cell phone off more often. Reserve it

for emergencies or important matters. In the case of the iPhone you should

actually take the battery out as even when the phone is turned off it is

actually acting as a transmitter for other iPhones and you essentially have a

mini

_cell phone tower_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/7/the-cell-phone-quot\

-tower-of-doom-quot.aspx) in your home even if the

phone is turned off.

Use A Land Line At Home And At Work: Although more and more people are

switching to using cell phones as their exclusive phone contact, it is a

dangerous trend and you can choose to opt out of the madness.

Reduce or Eliminate Your Use of Other Wireless Devices: You would be wise to

cut down your use of these devices. Just as with cell phones, it is

important to ask yourself whether or not you really need to use them every

single

time. If you must use a portable home phone, use the older kind that operates

at 900 MHz. They are no safer during calls, but at least they do not broadcast

constantly even when no call is being made.

Use Your Cell Phone Only Where Reception Is Good: The weaker the reception,

the more power your phone must use to transmit, and the more power it uses,

the more radiation it emits, and the deeper the dangerous radio waves

penetrate into your body. Ideally, you should only use your phone with full

bars and

good reception.

Turn Your Cell Phone Off When Not In Use: As long as your cell phone is on,

it emits radiation intermittently, even when you are not actually making a

call.

Keep Your Cell Phone Away From Your Body When It Is On: The most dangerous

place to be, in terms of radiation exposure, is within about six inches of

the emitting antenna. You do not want any part of your body within that area.

Use Safer Headset Technology: Wired headsets will certainly allow you to

keep the cell phone further away from your body. However, if a wired headset

is

not well-shielded -- and most of them are not -- the wire itself acts as an

antenna attracting ambient information carrying radio waves and transmitting

radiation directly to your brain.

Make sure that the wire used to transmit the signal to your ear is shielded.

The best kind of headset to use is a combination shielded wire and air-tube

headset. These operate like a stethoscope, transmitting the information to

your head as an actual sound wave; although there are wires that still must be

shielded, there is no wire that goes all the way up to your head.

Sign In

Increasing Danger From Cell Phones

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Support the Ashram

Join Groups

Top Downloads