People should take a closer look at the health risks that cellphones pose, one of the world’s foremost scientific experts on the subject said yesterday.
There’s growing evidence that cellphones cause damage to other cells besides brain cells in the biological system, said Dr. Devra Davis, who will be speaking about how cellphones hurt their users at a public seminar entitled Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family, at Congregation Machzikei Hadas at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.
The information, said Davis — who is founding director of the Board on Toxicology and Environmental Studies at the United States National Academy of Sciences — has been coming out for years.
“But we’re so focused on brain cancer that we’ve missed the big picture. It’s not about brain cancer alone.”
There’s evidence from seven different countries that cellphone usage hurts sperm cells and impairs DNA repair.
Cellphones also release shock proteins that traumatize cells, she said, as well as increasing memory loss and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
Davis said she wants to see legislation that requires cellphone manufacturers to put warning labels on phones.
Because half of the world’s four billion cellphone users are under 20 years of age, Davis has geared much of her findings to young people by conveying information through YouTube videos.
The talk is part of a cancer prevention lecture series by Prevent Cancer Now.
