Melbourne, June 1 : Though the World Health Organisation has warned that the excessive use of mobile phones and other wireless communication devices could cause cancer, the mobile industry seems to be less convinced by the warning.
After a review of dozens of published studies, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the WHO, has said mobile phones are possible cancer-causing agents and has classified them in the same category as the pesticide DDT, petrol engine exhaust and coffee.
The IARC said heavy usage could lead to an increased incidence of glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer.
It reported that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields generated by such devices are `possibly carcinogenic to humans'.
However, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) said the report needed greater `clarity'.
"After reviewing the available scientific evidence, IARC has assessed it is possible that RF (radio frequency) electromagnetic fields could be a cancer hazard," the Herald Sun quoted AMTA''s executive officer Chris Althaus as saying in a statement.
"However, IARC did not quantify the risk or likelihood of cancer," he said.
Althaus stressed that the study suggested a hazard was "possible but not likely" and its cancer risk was in the same category as pickled vegetables, coffee and diesel.
He said the industry placed the highest priority on safety and supported independent research, but he stressed most devices operated within global guidelines.
"It should be remembered that wireless communications equipment is designed to operate within international and national exposure limits, which already have substantial safety margins built into them,'''' he said.
An Australian researcher who worked on the report with 30 other experts said more research was needed before any real link can be made between mobile phone use and cancer.
"Really, what it''s saying is there is an observed association between using a mobile phone and a higher risk of brain cancer,'''' Sydney University Professor Bruce Armstrong told ABC.
"But it''s also saying that there are perhaps biases in the study or ... other factors that could explain that association,'''' he added.
Armstrong said researchers studied radio wave activity on those who used phones the heaviest and for the longest period, and health risks for average users was `really quite small'.
"In the general population, particularly in the younger population, there is just no evidence ... that brain tumours are increasing in a way that would suggest that they are related to the greater amount of radio-frequency energy in our environment,'''' he said.
According to a survey in 2010, the number of mobile phone subscribers worldwide has hit 5 billion, or nearly three-quarters of the global population. (ANI)
