“Mobile Phones Could Cause Child Cancer”

The top public health official of Russia has claimed that mobile phones cause child cancer.

Through the government magazine Rossiskaya Gazetta on February 1, the head of Russia’s national health, Gennadi Onishenko, announced research results showing that mobile phones harmed children’s health in particular.

Dr. Onishenko said, “According to the Russian research center of medicinal plants, even if a child uses a mobile phone for two minutes, the child’s bioelectric activities remain unstable for two hours.”

He also introduced the research results of Hungarian scholars showing that using mobile phones from a younger age increased the risks of developing brain tumor from 20 to 29 years of age.

Dr. Onishenko refuted phone manufacturers’ claim that the products were not harmful, saying, “Mobile phones cause insomnia, memory failure, and high blood pressure.”

He also stated that people who keep mobile phones close to their bodies, by wearing mobile phones around their necks, putting them in their pockets, or carrying them in their hands, were in more danger.

Thus, he claimed that children, pregnant females, and drivers with cardiac pacemakers should refrain from using mobile phones.

Research results regarding mobile phones are announced relatively freely in Russia as the nation does not have a mobile phone manufacturer.

Ki-Hyun Kim kimkihy@donga.com