| So far companies have
provided little information on radiation risks, despite a boom In sales.
One In six Britons now owns a mobile. Thousands of parents are set to
buy their children one for Christmas.
And leading makers
Ericsson are even planning to hide tiny devices in cuddly toys such as
teddy bears so tots as young as THREE can use them.
Yet all the time, the
danger seems to be growing ...
Only lost week Virgin
boss Richard Bronson advised staff not to clamp mobiles to their ears
after his close friend Michael von Clemm died of a brain tumour.
The Sun wants all
phones fitted with a simple shield, a cover which cuts radiation
entering the head. At present they come as an extra costing up to £40.
We also believe 6.00
earpieces could be issued so users can hold mobiles away from their
heads.
Scientists have warned
that handsets can cause headaches, memory problems, ear and eye
conditions - and cancer.
And biologist Roger
Coghill, a radioactivity specialist who runs an Independent laboratory'
in Wales, wants all mobiles to carry a cigarette-style Government health
warning.
He believes the high
frequency radio-like waves emitted by phones can limit white blood
cells' ability to fight disease. It happens because the brain's fluid
absorbs radiation when the phone is held to the ear.
This has the effect of
deadening the signal. So the transmitter produces more radiation to
compensate - increasing the damage - to cells and effectively
"cooking" the brain, he claims.
Mr Coghill added:
"People using mobiles for more than 20 minutes at a time are
putting health at risk.
"After exposure to
microwave radiation from handsets for three hours, only a third of white
blood cells are still able to carry out their role of defending the
body.
Targeting
Phone firms are increasingly targeting kids by promoting new
pay-as-you-call services.
Ericsson are also
developing a voice-activated range which children can wear around their
necks an a cord.
A child only needs to
say "mummy" and the credit card-sized device automatically
rings the mother's number,
Yet the incidence of
brain cancer is steadily rising - and many medics believe it is linked
to increased use of mobiles.
In Britain there are
now nearly 4,000 victims a year, of whom less than 20 per cent survive.
In 1971 the figure
stood at 2,349 and in 1992 it was 3,221.
Meanwhile some mobile
makers are launching "low radiation" phones which they claim
will "protect users from injury to their health."
The Sun asks: If there
is no problem with existing mobiles, why bother with "safer"
ones? And we'd like some answers.
Disease Shock Of
Test Mice
Mice exposed to mobile-type radiation are twice as likely to develop
brain cancer, an Australian study showed.
In America, 'tests with
rats indicated short-term memory loss and DNA damage. The World Health
Organisation has launched a probe.
Case Study 1
Doctors discovered a malignant tumour when 32 year old cleaning firm
boss Andrew Currall had a brain seizure in his sleep.
Andrew - who had had no
inkling that anything was wrong until the attack - is convinced that
years of using a mobile phone was to blame.
He said: "It's in
exactly the same place on the right side of my head where I hold my
mobile phone to my ear. I've had to have surgery and radiotherapy and
hopefully I'm clear now. But I'm one of the lucky ones."
Recalling the night of
the seizure, he said: "I felt like I was dreaming. My brain seemed
to be fluttering. My girlfriend called an ambulance and I woke up in
hospital. They found a shadow on my brain. They told me it was a tumour
"At first, we
thought it was benign. It was awful when I was told it was cancer."
Andrew, from
Peterborough, Cambs, has used a mobile for six years, often for hours on
end.
He said: "I'll
always believe that had something to do with it.
"My bills used to
be huge. Now I still use the phone, but hardly at all."
Case Study 2
Widow is set to sue
Delia Mills spent an
agonising five months watching her 51-year-old husband Lawrence die of
cancer.
Now she is suing the
mobile phone company she claims is responsible for the BT engineer's
death.
He noticed a lump on
his neck where he held the phone just months after he was first issued
with one at work.
It grew as large as a
grapefruit and doctors diagnosed an aggressive form of lymphatic cancer.
Delia, of Cherisey,
Surrey, said: "From the start, he thought it was the phone. He
spent a lot of time talking to head office with it in the crook of his
neck as he checked junction boxes.
"There should be
warnings like on cigarette packets, saying they can kill you.
"I was married for
24 years. Now I live in a void."
Case Study 3
Branson pal’s hell
London banker Michael
Von Clemm used mobile phones for years.
Now friends - including
Richard Branson - are convinced that they may have caused a brain tumour
which eventually killed him.
Virgin boss Mr Branson
said"He was one of the first to have a mobile phone and used It all
the time.
"The particular
type of tumour he had, and Its position was consistent with where the
phone would be.
"I went to dinner
with him just before he died and he said his surgeons were convinced
that his extensive use of a mobile phone had caused the tumour.
Mr Branson - who is
urging all his staff to use mobiles with earpieces - added: "These
phones used hour after hour emitting waves cannot be safe."
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