B l i s s 1999

Are you frying tonight ?
Is your mobile melting your mind ?
Is your mobile phone slowly cooking your brain ? We investigate the terrifying new evidence that it might be...

"See you at six then Sam. Yeah, outside McDonald’s. Bye!"
Alice Jones was made-up. She’d just arranged a date with Sam Mackay, the captain of the school footie team. Not only that, but she’d done it on her new mobile, in front of all her jealous mates.

But as Alice came off the phone, she was surprised to feel a burning sensation behind her ear. Weird, she thought, but shrugged it off as thoughts of a night out with Sam took over. She didn’t realize her mobile could be to blame. And she never dreamed it could even be shortening her life.

Total fiction, right ? Well maybe not. Mobiles have been making the headlines recently, not just because of the incredible surge in the number of users (there are now 15 million users in the UK, four million of which are the pay-as-you-talk phones, mostly bought by teenagers). No, mobiles have now become the new BSE-type worry, as evidence appears to show that mobiles could be damaging our brains and other body parts every time we use them.

Dial S for sickness
Memory loss, headaches, dizzy spells and tiredness have been linked to mobiles in the largest-ever study carried out on their use in Norway and Sweden. Another study at Bristol University suggests mobiles could be creating mysterious hot spots in our brains – literally ‘frying’ them. According to Dr Alan Prece, who led the research, phones may heat part of the brain which controls speech and vision.

Cancer risk
Some mobile users believe the effects of using their phones are far more serious. Ralph Mills’ family thought he was going mad when he suffered memory loss and mood swings. The long distance lorry driver who once travelled the country would get lost in his own back garden. But then doctors discovered a brain tumor behind his ‘phone ear’. Ralph had been issued with a mobile in the late ‘80s, and believes it was to blame. After removal of the benign tumor, he’s still unwell.

More tragically, Larry Mills (no relation) was diagnosed suffering from lymphatic cancer, which he believed was caused by his phone. "Even before falling ill, he’d say, ‘My left ear tingles,’" says his wife, Delia. "Then he noticed a swelling - like a big cluster of grapes where he held the phone. In the end, he couldn’t swallow, he could hardly speak and his windpipe was pushed to the side." He died in June last year.

Expert views
Although the Government’s set up a working group to consider research into the effects of mobiles, Health Minister Tessa Jowell plays down the findings, "There’s no consistent evidence suggesting a risk to health." And Perdita Patterson, Editor of What Mobile, says people shouldn’t be too stressed about scare-mongering. "When people think of radiation they imagine nuclear power. But what we’re talking about is non-ionizing radiation-like in a microwave. Even then, a microwave works on about 1000 watts and a mobile on about two watts, so it’s not as bad as it sound."

It may not be as bad as it’s made out in the press, but comparing using a phone to placing a microwave by your head (however low the wattage) understandably worries people.

Nokia, the world’s leading mobile phone supplier declined to comment to Bliss on any research findings.

No protection
So what can we do to stop radiation going to our brains ? Recent newspaper articles have suggested using anti/radiation devices, like a handset cover. But Perdita Patterson says such devices "near/useless".

"If you put a shield between your phone and the base station, the effect of the signal is muffled so the phone then pumps up its signal and increases its own power. That means the strength of the signal reaching your brain will be the same. I strongly advise people not to buy anti-radiation devices."

The future
The current solution to any radiation worries is to use a hand-free set, like a little personal stereo earpiece. You can buy these in any phone shops. Perdita also has some encouraging news for mobile users of the future.

"I went to a conference in Sweden last week," she says, "which showed that people won’t be holding phones to their heads in a year. There will be a wireless headset, and when your phone goes off you press a button on your ear and wander around talking. You don’t even have to be near the phone."

But despite Perdita’s optimism, this doesn’t help the million people using potentially dangerous phones every single day. Who knows how many brain tumors will be diagnosed before mobiles are completely safe ?

DYING TO MAKE A CALL ?

Cancer
In tests, twice as many mice exposed to phone radiation developed cancer as those not exposed.

Heating brains
Bristol Uni research showed evidence of ‘hot spots’ in brain.

Addiction
Radiation could stimulate morphine-like brain chemicals turning people into phone-using addicts.

Headaches, tiredness, etc.
In the most recent survey of 11,000 mobile users in Norway and Sweden a quarter of the people polled reported memory loss, half claimed to suffer from headaches, and nearly two thirds complained of feeling drowsy, 84% said they felt warmth behind the ear or burning skin, and 35% said that they had trouble concentrating during or immediately after a mobile phone call.

Other effects
Worm larvae exposed to radiation grew faster and wriggled less than those not exposed. Mobiles have been linked to immune system problems and Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists found exposure to mild radiation from mobiles causes defects in developing chicken embryos.

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