User's Manual

33 M510 Ver. 1.1.5
In summary, we do not have enough information at this point to assure the public that there are, or are not,
any low incident health problems associated with use of mobile phones. FDA continues to work with all
parties, including other federal agencies and industry, to assure that research is undertaken to provide the
necessary answers to the outstanding questions about the safety of mobile phones.
What is known about cases of human cancer that have been reported in users of hand-held mobile
phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been diagnosed with brain cancer. But it is important to
understand the this type of cancer also occurs among people who have not used mobile phones. In fact,
brain cancer occurs in the U.S. population at a rate of about 6 new case per 100.000 people each year. At
that rate, assuming 80 million users of mobile phones (a number increasing at a rate of about 1 million per
month), about 4800 cases of brain cancer would be expected each year among those 80 million people,
whether or not they used their phones. Thus it is not possible to tell weather any individual’s cancer arose
because of the phone, or whether it would have happened anyway. A key question in whether the risk of
getting a particular form of cancer is greater among people who use mobile phones than among the
population. One way to answer that question is to compare the usage of mobile pones among people with
brain cancer with the use of mobile phones among appropriately matched people without brain cancer.
This is called a case-control study. The current case-control study of brain cancers by the National Cancer
Institute, as well as the Follow-up research to be sponsored by industry, will begin to generate this type of
information.
What is FDA’s role concerning the safety of mobile phones?
Under the law. FDA does not review the safety of radiation consumer products such as mobile phones
before marketing, as it does with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to
take action if mobile phones are shown to emit radiation at a level that is hazardous to the user. In such a
case, FDA could require the manufactures of mobile phones to notify users of the health hazard and to
repair. Replace or recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists.
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions at this time, FDA has urged
the mobile phones industry to take a number of steps to assure public safety. The agency has
recommended that the industry:
 support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type emitted by mobile phones;
 design mobile phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user that is not necessary for
device function ; and
 cooperate in providing mobile phone users with the best possible information on what is know about
possible effects of mobile phone use on human health.
At the same time, FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal agencies working group of
the federal agencies that have responsibility for different aspects of mobile phone safety to ensure a
coordinated effort at the federal level. These agencies are:

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
 Environmental Protection Agency
 Federal Communications Commission
 Occupational Health and Safety Administration
 National Telecommunication and Information Administration
The National Institutes of Health also participates in this group.
In the absence of conclusive information about any possible risk, what can concerned individuals
do?
If there is a risk these Products—and at this point we do not know that there is—it is probably very small.
But if people are concerned about avoiding even potential risks there are simple steps they can take to do
so.
For example, time is a key factor in how much exposure a person receives. Those persons who spend long