State Senator Chip Shields, Democrat, thinks Oregon needs to put a warning label on cell phones. This is an effort he has undertaken in at least one previous session of the legislature and is now floating in this one. His effort is called Senate Bill 679 apparently it hasn’t been officially introduced yet because the only place you’ll find info about it is in the news media, in this case the Washington Post. Apparently when it comes to making news all trial balloons are immediately sent to and transcribed by the Washington Post. I digress, however.
If cell phones can be concretely connected to brain tumors, which is what he’s getting at with this bill, then we should require headsets for all of them or ban them outright, right? A warning suggests the device is dangerous, right?
Interphone researchers reported that, overall, cell phone users have no increased risk for two of the most common types of brain tumor―glioma and meningioma. In addition, they found no evidence of increasing risk with progressively increasing number of calls, longer call time, or years since beginning cell phone use. For the small proportion of study participants who reported spending the most total time on cell phone calls, there was some increased risk of glioma, but the researchers considered this finding inconclusive. The study was published online May 17, 2010, in the International Journal of Epidemiology5). (
The CTIA wireless trade group refutes concerns about cellphone safety, saying studies by the World Health Organization and American Cancer Society show radio frequencies cannot harm people.
Undaunted by the truth, our hero pursues his quixotic quest to warn people about something that actually doesn’t hurt them. As the WaPo quotes him:
“Given the absence of any federal entity with primary jurisdiction to evaluate and regulate health and safety effects of cellular telephones on humans . . . the state of Oregon may lawfully exercise its health and safety and police powers to prohibit cellular telephones in this state unless the cellular telephones and their packaging contain a visible, written label advising consumers of possible risks and steps a consumer can take to reduce the risk of radio-frequency radiation exposure,” the bill states.
Specifically, the bill calls for a label with the following:WARNING: This is a radio-frequency (RF), radiation emitting device that has nonthermal biological effects for which no safety guidelines have yet been established. Controversy exists as to whether these effects are harmful to humans. Exposure to RF radiation may be reduced by limiting your use of this device and keeping away from the head and body.
The label would be affixed on the front and back of the package. It would also be on the back of the cellphone, occupying at least 30 percent of the surface.
