We believe that urgent action is needed to protect our children and young people from a epidemic of brain and other tumours in 10 to 30 years time. The majority of malignant gliomas (the most common type that has been associated with mobile phone use) are fatal within 3 to 5 years of diagnosis, even with treatment. If a large rise in numbers occurs then there is no way that we will have enough neurosurgeons or public money to treat them.

In our view it is now morally irresponsible to allow children and young people under 16 to have and regularly use mobile phones held to their head or carried on their body. Even the UK Department of Health has been saying since 2000 that “children and young people under 16 should be encouraged to use mobile phones for essential purposes only, and to keep calls short.”

Yet parents and grandparents are not only buying pay-as-you-go handsets but mostly signing long-term mobile phone contracts for their children and grandchildren.

Further damning evidence is emerging this week from the announcement of more of the long overdue results from the large multi-country Interphone study that completed data collection back in 2004.

We now learn that a forthcoming paper based on Interphone data for tumours located closest to where you hold your phone to your head (i.e. mainly gliomas in the temporal and frontal lobes) will report a significantly increased risk after only 7 years of using a mobile phone and that this risk increases over time. It is not restricted to the highest users — some occasional users seem particularly susceptible. Continue reading…