BBC One Show : Science Clown Declares Mobiles Safe Based on ONE, Seriously Flawed, Study

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/onepassions/2008/10/are-mobile-phones-safe.html

Transcript

Jopson: "Time to debunk the top 3 mobile myths"

[MOBILE MYTH No.1 ... BRAIN TUMOURS]

Jopson: "Your mobile phone is effectively a radio that uses high frequency microwaves coming in and going out. So, are we all frying our brains? Well, the largest ever mobile phone brain tumour study says "No". The survey of 400,000 Danish people who used a mobile for over 10 years found that tumours were no more likely than normal. Studies on longer-term effects are ongoing.

Mobile phones do get suspiciously warm when you talk on them for a long time, but that's got nothing to do with microwaves cooking your head. That's just the battery warming up as you use it. And that would have as much effect on your brain as using a hairdryer."

....

The BBC programme ignored recent research such as the peer reviewed Hardell study, published on PubMed and widely reported (apart from the BBC) when it came out last September (2007). I.e. more recent than the Danish study.:-

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17409179

"Long-term use of cellular phones and brain tumours: increased risk associated with use for > or =10 years." by Hardell L et al. at Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden.

The aim: "To evaluate brain tumour risk among long-term users of cellular telephones."
Conclusions: "[The] Results from present studies on use of mobile phones for > or =10 years give a consistent pattern of increased risk for acoustic neuroma and glioma. The risk is highest for ipsilateral [same-side] exposure."

Marty quoting one - disputed - source and using it as the only basis of his piece to state to the UK population at large that "So, are we all frying our brains? Well, the largest ever mobile phone brain tumour study says "No". The survey of 400,000 Danish people who used a mobile for over 10 years found that tumours were no more likely than normal." You've categorically stated that Mobile Phones do not cause brain tumours, despite many studies and evidence to the contrary. This is highly irresponsible to say the least.

In the blog attached to the BBC One Show site the programme makers stated that the Petroleum Enforcement Officers guidelines including "Radio transmissions from individual mobile telephones are generally too low to induce currents in nearby equipment and the risk of incendive sparking from the battery is low, however they should not be used in the hazardous areas that exist when actually dispensing petrol." This should have been stated by Marty Joplin at the end of his piece, but wasn't.

Thirdly, giving the impression that mobile phones are OK to use anywhere in hospitals as long as they are not used in cardiac wards - "if in doubt, ask" is equally irresponsible. If signs say "don't use mobile phones" they are probably there for a good reason - perhaps the signs are adjacent to, below or above a sensitive area. And what about intensive care wards? No mention.

Slingshot Press Release : Expose of/Against Dr Ben Goldacre

Slingshot Publications
PRESS RELEASE

AGANST DR BEN GOLDACRE

Cultural Dwarfs and Junk Journalism is Martin Walker’s fourth book charting the development of the corporate science lobby that has grown rapidly since New Labour came to power in 1997. One of the most recent exponents of the Lobby is Dr Ben Goldacre who has regurgitated a bad ‘Science’ column in the Guardian newspaper since 2003.

Like other quackbusters Goldacre claims to write factually based and scientifically accurate articles about health, medicine and science either supporting scientists and doctors or criticising individuals involved in alternative or nutritional health care. Goldacre’s writing, however, actually reflects the ideology of powerful industrial, technological and political vested interests.

Goldacre who it is claimed is a Junior doctor working in a London NHS hospital is actually a clinical researcher working at the centre of New Labour’s Orwellian spin operation that puts a sympathetic gloss on anything shown to create adverse reactions from MMR to Wi-Fi, while at the same time undermining cost-effective and long tried alternative therapies such as acupuncture and homoeopathy. Goldacre is involved with public health researchers well known for trying to prove that those who claim to be adversely affected by pollutants in our modern high-technology society, suffer from ‘false illness beliefs’.

Cultural Dwarfs and Junk Journalism, investigates Goldacre’s role in industry lobby groups and puts another point of view in defense of some of the people whom he has attacked, belittled, satirized, castigated, vilified, maligned and opined against in his junk journalism.

* * *

Cultural Dwarfs and Junk Journalism: Ben Goldacre, quackbusters and corporate science, is available from the Slingshot Publications web site as a free download, from mid-day on Wednesday January 2nd.

To be effective as a campaigning document, it is important that this book is distributed far and wide as quickly as possible. Please forward this publication information together with the Slingshot Publications web site address. Another thing that will help with the book’s distribution is the writing of even very short reviews for different web sites, this helps get the book onto Google listings.

This book is free and can be downloaded from the Slingshot Publications site: www.slingshotpublications.com. Please distribute it as widely as possible and if you think that the work is worth it, consider making a small donation. Also on the Slingshot site, is Martin Walker’s last book, The Fate of a Good Man. The book tells the story of Jim Wright, the investigation into him, his prosecution and trial by the Big Pharma regulatory agency, the MHRA. A good read at £5.00

[I knew there was something suspect and selective about Ben Goldacre!]