Alarm Call for Mobile Users
The Catholic Times
(January 14, 2001)
Do mobiles cause brain tumours? Some people certainly think so. The British mobile phone suppliers Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile phone company, is facing up to ten compensation claims for brain tumour victims in the US (The Times, December 28).
The lawsuits are to be launched by one of America's most successful lawyers, Peter Angelos, who recently helped to win some £3 billion in damages from the tobacco industry in Maryland. This is bad news not only for Vodafone, but also for Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Vodafone and bell Atlantic, which is also to be named in nearly all the cases. Verizon is the biggest mobile phone company in the United States, with some 26 million customers.
Not only are these actions bad news for Vodafone and for Verizon, but given that they represent the biggest legal assault on the mobile phone industry ever, they are bad news for the industry as a whole, the share prices of mobile companies are bound to fall drastically, as will probably the share prices of IT companies investigating in third-generation mobiles which allow their owners to use high-speed Internet services via their handsets. Indeed, these actions could have a knock-on effect on the IT industry as a whole.
Worse still, if mobiles really do cause brain tumours it is very bad news for the billions and billions of people who for years have had their ears glued to their mobiles for hours on end. Moreover, if mobiles really cause cancers it is bound to affect the young more than the old, which makes it particularly bad news. And it is bound to affect the young more than the old for perhaps two reasons. First, mobiles have caught on even more among the younger age groups than among middle aged and older people.
Secondly, while the public has received few warnings about the dangers of mobiles to adults there have been public statements to the effects that children should be kept away from them. This suggests that there is serious concern within informed circles about the effects of mobile radiation on young brains.
So, are we facing another health scandal not unlike that of the BSE scandal but potentially much more devastating? While many people may have eaten affected beef, it is almost certain that many more people worldwide would have been exposed to mobile phone radiation on massive scale. Yes, technology in all areas, from reproductive technologies to mobiles, are moving so fast today that there is the risk that mankind will stab itself in the back. The Vodafone law cases raise the question whether we are faced with a prime example of what may befall us when consumerism is coupled with technological hubris and corporate greed.
But while the lawsuits are bad news for many, they are certainly welcome news in as-much as they will bring about the most extensive examination yet of claims that radiation from mobiles causes cancer.
True, mobile phone companies will no doubt present massive amounts of data to defend themselves. However, there has already been a succession of reports from former mobile phone engineers, who claim that they have suffered ill-effects from over-exposure to verified, there is a good case against the mobile phone industry.
And, as John A Pica, an attorney at Mr. Angelos' firm is reported to have said: "If these companies knew about the dangers of cell-phone radiation they should be punished and they should be punished dearly; not only for what they did to the public but for the billions of pounds of profits they made'.
The first two actions against Vodafone are planned for March, and the remaining ones will follow within a year. Each action will be taken against a mobile phone supplier and a mobile phone network provider. The first claims will be launched in California, Kentucky and Maryland. In each of the claim compensation for the pain suffered by brain tumours patients, plus he income that they lost as a result of the disease. In addition, they are seeking compensation for the families of mobile phone users who have died from brain tumours as well as punitive damages. There is little doubt that the sums involved will be enormous.
Almost certainly, similar action will also be taken in other countries, especially in high proportion of mobile phone users. It would appear that two thirds of all Britons now own a mobile phone after about five million people bought mobile phones this Christmas. In countries such as Japan, Sweden and Finland the proportion would be even higher.
Until now the telecoms companies have defended themselves successfully against claims that mobile phones can cause brain tumours. But they, like the scientists, engineers, manufacturers, and distributors involved with hew technology, have the duty to proceed with caution in the face of the risks attached to the unknown. The public should expect and demand nothing less.
