- (Reuters) -- The French may have only just jumped on
the no-smoking-in-bars bandwagon, but they are leading the charge against
health risks associated with cell phone use. Earlier this week, France's
Ministry of Health issued a statement sp=true warning the public against
excessive cell phone use. French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin
(pictured) also went on France 2 TV and rehashed the well-worn theory connecting
cell phone use and cancer (cell phones emit small amount of radiation).
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- While she stopped short of actually telling people to
stop using their cell phones entirely, Bachelot-Narquin did say that people,
especially children, should curtail their long-term proximity to phones
by avo! iding making calls if there's poor reception or by keeping phones
away from their bodies (presumably by using a wireless Bluetooth headset).
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- Bachelot-Narquin acknowledged that the link between cell
phone use and cancer remains specious, but cited studies in which it was
found that people who used analog cell phones for more than ten years were
more likely to develop tumors. What she didn't mention is that most people
in countries like France and the U.S. no longer use analog phones and instead
now use digital phones, and those haven't been around for much more than
ten years.
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- So, the jury is still out on whether newer cell phones
pose health risks or not.
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- But a st! atistic pointed out by BetaNews may shed some
light on cell ph! ones and cancer: Finland, the country with the highest
per capita cell phone use in the world, listed tumors as the second biggest
cause of death (23 percent) among men and women alike.
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- So maybe the French are on to something, or maybe they're
just trying to one-up us on the banning of addictive activities that annoy
other people. Regardless, cutting back on cell-phone-use certainly seems
to be the flavor of the month (or the New Year), as evidenced by this New-York-City-woman's
recent New Year's resolution .
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- One thing is certainly true: The questions around cell
phone use and cancer are not likely to go away any time soon. And don't
get us started on all the other gadgets that might be making you sick.
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- From http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL022315!%0A+77200801
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