Mobile Phones Are Akin To
Cyanide, Says Academic
Register
Journalist: Sean Fleming
February 6, 2000
Giving a child a mobile phone
is no different from handing out cyanide pills, according to a leading UK
academic.
This was one of the bizarre claims made in an article on whether or not
schoolchildren should be given lessons on mobile phone safety, featured in the Kingston
Borough Guardian.
The remark was made by Prof Gerald Hyland, of the University of Warwick, who hit
the headlines last June when he raised concerns about phone transmission masts
being sited near schools. While no one would doubt the good Prof's pedigree, his
recent outburst is certainly open to debate.
"It is totally irresponsible for parents to let their children have
mobiles. It is the equivalent of giving the child a cyanide pill," he said.
While many people have expressed fears over the links between the use of mobile
phones and a variety of ailments, no one has proved beyond doubt that mobile
phones are harmful, never mind potentially deadly.
The same cannot be said about cyanide.
Prof Hyland's remark is made all the more interesting when we look back at his ban
phone masts from schools call last June. Back then, The Register
reported Prof Hyland admitting there was no evidence to back up his claims, yet
he was still calling for an outright ban on siting phone masts near schools.
Rather an extreme stance for a man of science (he's a physicist) who you'd
expect to find sticking faithfully to facts and evidence. Prof Hyland talks
about parents being irresponsible, yet he seems to have abdicated himself from
all responsibility when speaking out as a leading academic in this field.
Only an idiot -- or maybe the chief exec of a mobile phone company -- would not
want to see more research carried out into the possibility that prolonged use of
mobiles can provoke the onset of cancer - which has been one of the most common
concerns. But to liken a phone to a cyanide pill reduces the argument to the
trite and trivial.
Luddites and techno-phobes everywhere are more than happy to sound off on the
subject of giving mobile phones to children. But far from just being a fashion
accessory -- although that does come into it -- many parents give their kids a
phone in the hope it will actually keep them safe.
Some 300,000 mobile phones were bought for use by children in the UK in the
run-up to Christmas '99. Parents hope a child with a phone will be less likely
to be abducted on the way home from school, or visiting their friends, or
wherever. Now, while the statistical likelihood of your child being abducted is
probably no greater today than it was 20 years ago, this is a topic which has a
grip on the parental psyche, due in part to the lurid detail with which tales of
abducted children are covered by some newspapers.
So, what do concerned parents do -- they get mobiles for their kids. Will this
really keep them any safer than their phoneless peers? Who can say. If it means
your teenage daughter can ring you at 11pm to ask you to collect her rather than
her having to walk home alone, then maybe.
But what about the possible health risks? Parents will continue to fret over the
welfare of their children, just as they always have. We can assume that most
people will have had some contact with mobiles give you cancer stories,
and the fact that more than a quarter of a million UK youngsters got a mobile
last Christmas gives some indication of where parents' priorities lie. Not that
they don't care about the little darlings' health, they're just more bothered
about other stuff.
Of course, they could be wrong -- 'pay as you talk' could become 'fry as you
walk'. So in the meantime those lessons on safe use of mobiles could be a wise
move.
What's needed is a properly funded and coordinated research programme that will
examine the possible links between phone usage and ill-health. For this to
happen the network operators and the handset manufacturers will have to take the
lead. But it will also need the wider support of government bodies and academics
like Prof Hyland. Which means taking the emphasis off talk of the Boogie Man and
sticking to some cold hard facts
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