It's confirmed! Cellphones do not cause cancer

A new study has found that cellphones do not increase the risks of childhood cancer or leukaemia.

Fears have long existed that radiofrequency fields from cellphones and towers can cause brain tumours, headaches and cancer, but the British study confirms the international consensus that cellphone use is safe, Stuff.co.nz reported.

Christchurch electromagnetic frequency expert Martin Gledhill, who has been tracking global research into the risks of cellphone use, said the latest findings from Britain's Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme (MTHR) supported the conclusions of specialist health groups who found no persuasive evidence of health effects from exposure to radiofrequency (RF) fields.

The MTHR report gathered together more than a decade of exhaustive research and found that exposure to RF fields from cellphone towers during pregnancy does not affect the risk of early childhood cancer, and uncovered no evidence that cellphone use increases the risk of leukaemia.

The modulating of radio signals, which is how mobile phone and wi-fi data are carried, also produces no particular effect on health, the study said.