London (England) - Mobile phone usage can dramatically increase the risk of cancer in children and young adults. According to a new study by Professor Lennart Hardell from the University Hospital in Orebo Sweden, mobile phone users younger than 20 years old had a five-fold increase in particular types of cancer.
Hardell suspects that the thinner and still developing skulls of the children make them more susceptible to electromagnetic radiation. He recommends children under 12-years-old only use mobile phones in emergencies. Teenagers, according to Hardell, should only use mobile phones with hands-free sets or while text messaging.
Children under the age of 20 were five times more likely to contract brain cancer, specifically glioma, and cancer of the auditory nerve. People who started using cell phones in their 20s were twice as likely to contract the same cancer, claims Hardell. Interestingly enough, cordless phone users showed similar risks and were four times more likely to contract cancer.
This data contradicts a study done last year in Denmark and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 420,000 people were followed in that study which showed that mobile phone users were no more likely than anyone else to suffer cancer.
Hardell suspects that the thinner and still developing skulls of the children make them more susceptible to electromagnetic radiation. He recommends children under 12-years-old only use mobile phones in emergencies. Teenagers, according to Hardell, should only use mobile phones with hands-free sets or while text messaging.
Children under the age of 20 were five times more likely to contract brain cancer, specifically glioma, and cancer of the auditory nerve. People who started using cell phones in their 20s were twice as likely to contract the same cancer, claims Hardell. Interestingly enough, cordless phone users showed similar risks and were four times more likely to contract cancer.
This data contradicts a study done last year in Denmark and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 420,000 people were followed in that study which showed that mobile phone users were no more likely than anyone else to suffer cancer.