As a public service, I have written no less than 9 articles in the past few months about cell phones and our health. This is the 10th article. More articles on the subject will be shared with the readers of this column now and then to remind others that there are harmful effects of the excessive use of cell phones because of radiation exposure.

Radiation is energy that is transmitted in the form of rays, waves or particles. The human body is exposed to various types of radiation which may be harmful or not to our body. The radiation emitted by cell phones is known as electromagnetic radiation. Our human body is exposed to radiation while making or receiving calls.

Let me share the following information on cell phone radiation:

Many of us have been warned at one time or another that we should never leave a mobile phone in car compartment especially when the vehicle is exposed to direct sunlight for a long period of time. A news clipping was shared to me regarding an incident that happened in Saudi Arabia of a mobile phone explosion inside a vehicle cabin. It was reported that mobile phone units were left inside the car compartment of a vehicle parked in an open area at midday. One of the phones had its power “on”. Reportedly, after an hour in the hot park, one of the mobile phones exploded. It was reported that the overheated battery caused by the extremely hot temperature in the closed unventilated vehicle cabin triggered the explosion;

Those who downplay the risk of cell phone radiation to the brain should be shared the information about the experiment where an egg was cooked with cell phones. “In the experiment, researchers placed one egg in a porcelain cup (because it is easy to conduct heat), and put one cell phone on one side and another cell phone on the other. The researchers then called from one cell phone to another and kept the cell phones on after connecting.

“During the first 15 minutes, nothing changed. After 25 minutes, however, the egg shell started to become hot and at 40 minutes, the surface of the egg became hard and bristled. Researchers found the protein in the egg had become solid although the egg yolk was still in liquid form. After 65 minutes, the whole egg was well cooked.”

In another Israeli study conducted on 402 adults with benign parotid gland tumors (the largest of the salivary glands) and 58 others who had malignant tumors of the parotid gland – it was found out that “people who spent more than 22 hours a month on their cell phones were 50 per cent more likely to develop cancer of the parotid gland than those who used the phones less often. The risk of developing a parotid gland tumor was even higher in people who generally used their cell phones on the same ear most of the time, and did not use a hands-free device.”

Hopefully, these studies on the use of cell phone will be passed on to others. To remind cell phone users that there are more and more studies coming out nowadays documenting the harmful effects of the excessive use of cell phones. Let us regulate our use of cell phones for healthy living!

Have a joyful day!