Dangers of Mobile Phones

 I was reading the papers last week and stumbled on this article written by Ayodeji Ganiu and published in TELL magazine on the dangers of mobile phones.

It started as a rumour. Now researches have confirmed that radiations from cell phones are deadly to users. Recent research results have shown that waves coming from cell phones are harmful to the physical body and organs such as the heart. Research has also shown that cell phone radiations may also affect reproductive organs adversely. Gaby Badre, a medical doctor at Sahlgren’s Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden said, “Addiction to cell phone is becoming common. Young ones feel a pressure to remain inter-connected and reachable round-the-clock. Children start to use mobile phones at an early stage of their life.

There seem to be a connection between intensive use of cell phones and health compromising behavior such as smoking, snuffing and use of alcohol.” Badre is not alone. Many scientists believe that radiation from mobile phones may cause the users to exhibit different symptoms like headache, earaches, blurring of vision and even causing cancer. In view of these, mobile phone users are advised to reduce the usage of their phones as much as possible. But mobile phone addiction is a big social problem.

Psychiatrists believe that mobile phone addiction is becoming one of the biggest non-drug addictions in the 21st century. Gbenga Adebayo, president, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria said, “many sleep with their phones under their pillows and others put it in their pockets. Nigerians should be sensitised on phone usage to minimise any harm that might eventually arise from prolonged use of it.” Indeed, cell phones have become a major part of culture. It used to be a tool for business alone and now it has become a key of communication for personal use, for families, and now, even for children.

Today there are more than two billion cell phone users being exposed every day to the dangers of electromagnetic radiation, whose existence government regulators and the cell phone industry have refused to admit. Some of the dangers include genetic damage, brain tumours, and other conditions such as sleep disorders and headaches. Besides, experts warn that the number of hours used on mobile phone is irrelevant as the danger mechanism is triggered within seconds. For a safer use of cell phones, the World Health Organization has issued a number of guidelines. These include the fact that mobile phone users should limit their exposure to harmful radio frequencies by cutting the length of calls and use hands-free devices to cut exposure by keeping the instrument away from the head and body. These, the global health body says, will go a long way to help people minimize the dangers associated with excessive use of mobile phone.