MOBILE PHONE USING RISKS

1. Driving

Anything that distracts a driver increases the risk of an accident – posing a threat to pedestrians, cyclists, passengers and other road users. You must be in proper control of your vehicle while you are driving. Any lack of concentration or momentary inattention may result in your being prosecuted. Even using a hands-free phone while driving will distract you.

2. Children and young people under 16

Mobile phones are very popular among young people and have obvious attractions for personal security and keeping in touch with others. Parents and young people should make their own informed choices about the use of mobile phones. The current balance of evidence does not show health problems caused by using mobile phones.

However the research does show that using mobile phones affects brain activity. There are also significant gaps in our scientific knowledge, because the head and nervous system are still developing into the teenage years.

It’s recommended a precautionary approach; the widespread use of mobile phones by children (under the age of 16) should be discouraged for non-essential calls.So children and young people under 16 should be encouraged to:
- use mobile phones for essential purposes only;
- keep all calls short
– talking for long periods prolongs exposure and should be discouraged.

3. At Work

Mobile phones are often used at work. They can have benefits for safety, efficiency and convenience of employers and staff. Employers have legal duties to protect the health and safety of their employees. The Health and Safety Executive advises employers that they should instruct staff not to use mobile phones while driving, or doing anything else where safety is important and their use might interfere with concentration.

4. In hospitals and aeroplanes

The radio signals emitted by mobile phone systems can interfere with sensitive electronic equipment. In hospitals, aeroplanes and other restricted areas observe the warming signs and switch off your mobile when required.

5. Base stations on or nears schools

Although exposure from base stations will be many times lower than from using a mobile phone, there was some public concern about base stations located on or near schools. The pattern of radio waves emitted from a base station is generally even, but there is a zone within each cell where the concentration of waves will be slightly higher.What is the cause of concern? Mobile phones are small, low-power transmitters that send out radio waves. Individual countries ser SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) guidelines, which indicates to the public if the level of radio or other electromagnetic waves emitted by electrical appliances is safe. However, because mobile phones are held very close to the head, research is continuing to measure exactly how much of the radiated power is absorbed by the mobile phone user and whether or not is harmful.

HEALTH PROBLEMS

1.Blood pressure

It’s suggested that there might be a link between using mobile phones and blood pressure. Mobile phones were strapped to the heads of volunteers and switched on by remote control, so the people being tested did not know whether the handsets were on or off.

Although the volunteers did not know when the phones were on or off, the researchers did and until a proper study is designed in such a way that the influence of researchers, as well as that of the subject is eliminated this study should be treated with caution. It is also probable that the changes that were observed were within normal physiological limits.

Responding to the study, the British Heart Foundation said "A person’s blood pressure can vary in a day and we do not want to cause people who have high blood pressure undue certain".

2.Brain tumours

The result of a research into the possible link between mobile phone use and brain tumours was that there is no increased incidence of tumours with mobile phone use although it suggested a possible association between the side of the body to which the phone was held and the incidence of tumours.

3.Memory

There have been various studies into the connection between mobile phones and memory loss. The results showed that radio frequency could modify nervous transmission in a part of the brain that is responsible for learning and short tern memory.

A series of experiments were carried out on human volunteers to test the short-term memory effects of exposure to mobile phone-type transmissions. As a result there appears to be no effect on short-term memory or attention from short exposure (30 minutes) to the microwave effects of mobile phones. But there was one noticeable effect: the experimental subjects reacted faster in one test involving a visual choice during the transmission, but there is no suggestion that this effect might be harmful or helpful.

4.Children

There has been speculation in the media that the children receive more exposure from a mobile phone than adults particularly if they are fairly young because of the thinness of the skull and the tissues over the skull.

Scientists are calling for more research to measure the influence of age.

5.Holding mobile phones between ear and shoulder

Researchers claiming that holding a mobile phone between the raised shoulder and the ear could have a damaging effect on muscles, bones, tendons and discs.

These problems would apply equally to a cordless phone or a landline phone as to a mobile phone and are the effects of bad posture.

 

 

THE DO�S AND DON�TS OF MOBILE PHONE USE
DO�S	DON�TS
Only use your phone when necessary.	Don�t buy a phone with an internal aerial, you want the aerial as far away from your head as possible.
Keep the calls short.	Don�t use your phone when the reception is weak, the phone needs more power to communicate with the base station, and so the radio waves emissions are higher.
Carry the phone away from your body when it is on standby.	Don�t buy a phone with a high "SAR" value, this means that it emits more radiation.
Buy a phone with a long "talk time". It is more efficient, with less powerful emissions.	Don�t buy protective gadgets unless they have been independently tested.

 

---