“A committee of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection has concluded after a comprehensive review that there is little cause for concern about the suggested link between mobile phone use and brain tumors,” BMJ reports (Watts, 7/4).

The report, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, “stated that despite near universal mobile phone use, there had been no jump in the number of tumors” and “also identified flaws in many studies investigating a link,” BBC News writes (Gallagher, 7/1).

“Concerns that the technology might be harmful to the health of the 4.6 billion people who use cell phones aren’t likely to be put to rest soon, because data is limited and researchers can’t prove the complete absence of an impact, the panel said,” Bloomberg reports. The report did not “issue guidelines for cell-phone use and said more study is needed, after finding some evidence for an increased risk of glioma, or brain cancer,” according to the news service (Hallam, 7/1).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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