13/05/2011 - Mobilewise Charity to promote safer mobile phone use by young people

A new UK Charity, MobileWise, has been launched to do what the Stewart Report unsucessfully asked the Government to do - namely to properly inform young people, their parents and teachers about the possible health hazards from mobile phone use and how to use them more safely.

Shortly after the Stewart (IEGMP) Report 11 years ago, the Department of Health produced a reasonable leaflet. Stewart asked that this be sent to every household in the UK, to be freely available on the counter or in a display stand in every shop that sold mobile phones and in schools and doctors surgeries. It wasn't. In fact, it was usually quite difficult to find a printed copy.

The UK Department of Health recently updated its leaflet has again stated: "As a precaution, the UK Chief Medical Officers advise that children and young people under 16 should be encouraged to use mobile phones for essential purposes only, and to keep calls short. If you are concerned, you can take steps to reduce your exposure such as using hands free kits or texting."

How many parents and young people have been told this?

Evidence for an increase in temporal and frontal lobe brain tumours and for parotid (salivary) gland tumours after 10 years of mobile phone use is increasing. How many children who are now using a mobile phone will develop fatal tumours when they reach their 20s, 30s or even 40s? We just do not know, but the evidence is not looking good and is getting worse - we will post another news story with more details about this next week.

If you believe that your child, or grandchild, for some reason really needs a mobile phone, we suggest that you visit the MobileWise website and take their precautionary advice.

» Visit the MobileWise website.