Mobile Phones and Health Risks

Mobile Phones and Health Risks
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Mobile Phones and Health Risks
Technological advancement has increased the accessibility and availability of mobile phones globally. According to GSMA (2018), it is projected that the number of mobile phone users will increase by 1.74 billion by 2025. With the continued increase in mobile phones usage, there have been concerns that they may pose health risks to users, both in the short and long run. The greatest concern stems from the radiofrequency energy emitted by mobile phones, which are likely to be absorbed into the skin of the users after long exposure. The radiofrequency energy is a form of radiation, which was classified as possibly carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (Naeem, 2014). While mobile phones have increased connectedness among human beings, it has also increased health risks regarding carcinogens, bacterial contamination, and accidents.
Mobile phones release radiofrequency energy, making them among the most commonly used radiation-emitting products across the globe. It is well known that radiation has enough energy that damages body cells, causing cancer. As such, the increased usage of mobile phones should be addressed from a health risk perspective using the available evidence. While there have been inconclusive evidence to support or refute whether radiation from mobile phones causes cancer, a study by Morgan, Miller, Sasco, and Davis (2015) revealed that using mobile phones for more than two years increases the risk of glioma, which is a type of a tumor that occurs in the spinal cord and the brain. Further, Morgan, Miller, Sasco, and Davis (2015) noted that using a mobile phone for an average of 2.9 years increased the risk of rare brain cancer, indicating that mobile phone radiation is an initiator of a brain tumor. These results indicate that the health risk posed by exposure to mobile phone radiation should not be ignored and people should be advised on safer mobile phone usage.
Given that mobile phones' radiation is likely to be absorbed into the nearest body tissues, it makes sense that the brain and the spinal cord are the main organs that are exposed to the risk of a tumor because they are near the head. Further, Morgan, Miller, Sasco, and Davis (2015) revealed that the risk of a brain tumor is more likely among young adults than older adults. In young adults, myelination of the brain is not complete, and exposure to mobile radiation causes demyelination, thus increasing the risk of developing a brain tumor. Similar results were revealed by Hardell and Carlberg (2015), who added that children and young adults are at a greater risk of a brain tumor after exposure to mobile phone radiation because they have a thinner skull bone. This revelation is alarming, given that young adults spend more time using their mobile phones and as such, risk more exposure than older adults.
Mobile phones have become a breeding space for bacteria, and more importantly, they have enhanced the transmission of bacterias from one person to another. Handling of mobile phones exposes people to infections, especially for people in health facilities. Holding mobile phones makes the hands sweaty, and this combined with the heat emitt...