'Smartphones increase your risk of CANCER'

Question

This claim that cell phones cause cancer is false. This article by the Daily Mail says "Using a mobile phone for as little as 17 minutes per day over 10 years increases the risk of developing cancerous tumors by up to 60 percent, a surprising study found." This is a wild claim that is not backed by any factual evidence and a report from The National Cancer Institution debunks that by saying there is no evidence in their extensive research to prove that cellphones have any correlation to cancer or tumors. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

Comments

I found this claim to be very intriguing as someone who uses their phone daily, after further reading the article I was pleased to have factual back up supporting that this is false, having no evidence relating cellphone usage to cancer.

Answer 1

The claim that smartphones increase your risk of Cancer is false. Quite extensive research has been done to investigate whether the radiofrequency energy emitted by phones could increase cancer risk, but no consistent link has been found. According to the FDA, phones produce non-ionizing radiation, which doesn’t have enough energy to damage DNA or even directly cause cell mutations, which is a process that could lead to cancer. Similarly, reviews of human studies show that there is no significant increase in cancer risk, even for heavy cell phone users. The National Cancer Institute also points out that the majority of studies have not found a clear association between cell phone use and cancer development.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024005695 

https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard 

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

Comments

This response was said perfectly. It brings notice that phones may have links to increased risk of obtaining cancer but not directly related to causing cancer like the claim states. the detailed analysis of all three sources was done very well and executed the point clearly.

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This was an excellent response! You used multiple different souces to back up your claim, as well as structuring your response very well. It is good to differentiate that phones may have links to increasing the risk of cancer, but there is not a direct link between owning a smartphone and the risk of cancer increasing.

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This is a very good response. You point out important facts and misconceptions as well as structuring your argument well.

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I think your claim is great! I like how you admitted smartphone can increase your risk but do not solely cause cancer.

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This is an excellent response that effectively addresses the concern about smartphones and cancer risk. By citing reputable sources like the FDA and the National Cancer Institute, you've provided strong evidence to debunk this myth. Clearly explaining that smartphones emit non-ionizing radiation, which is not harmful to DNA, further strengthens your argument. Your concise and informative response, coupled with credible sources, offers a convincing rebuttal to the unfounded claim.

Answer 2

This claim is false because although the research project that this article is based on is thoroughly done at an academic institution it is denoted by government research. On the governments National cancer institute study it states that the radiation from cellphones is not anywhere near close enough to cause cancer. This research by the National cancer has also been reviewed more recently than the project that the article is based off of so this claim is therefore false.

Comments

I really liked how you worded your fact check, it was very well-spoken and informed yet you did not provide any sources. I have found a supporting article by the FDA to help back up your claim that this statement is false. In this article, it states "there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk in humans." I also believe there is enough supporting evidence proving that cell phones do not cause cancer for this claim to be true.

https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard#:~:text=The%20type%20of%20radiation%20emitted,increases%20cancer%20risk%20in%20humans.

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I appreciate the reference to the National Cancer Institute’s findings. However, it may be helpful to provide a bit more detailed explanation of why the radiation from cell phones isn't strong enough to cause cancer, including a specific study or something can strengthen the argument!

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This is great. Gave me an insightful look into how my phone won't give me cancer. Now knowing that i'll be fine even though I'm on my phone for about 5 hours a day I won't have to worry about any underlying health conditions related to cancer. Again clears up a lot of misinformation about smartphones and radiation cancer!

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I am glad that you addressed the main reason on why phones would even be considered as cancer probable. The radiation caused by an object that about 60% of the people on earth have would be somewhat ridiculous which relieves me that this claim is false.

Answer 3

Off the bat, the included link begins with two main reasons why they argue this is correct; "Cell phones emit radiation (in the form of radiofrequency radiation, or radio waves), and cell phone use is widespread. Even a small increase in cancer risk from cell phones would be of concern given how many people use them."

This is a .gov website, so it isn't trying to spark a rumor or conversation, it's trying to warn the masses. The website has multiple studies discussed that they have orchestrated for the reason of pure curiosity and not for getting clicks. There were examples of why some evidence wouldn't be consistent with the rest, and overall double-checking to all their arguments. This site is trying to warn masses rather than start meaningless rumors. 

Comments

While you did correctly identify sources from the government that explain radioactivity from radio waves, these don't support the claim! Your linked website to radiofrequency radiation actually explicitly says that there isn't enough radioactivity to cause cancer or tumors.

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I do not agree that this claim is true. According to reliable sources such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, this is a myth. Although cell phones do emit radio frequency radiation, they do not at all emit enough to cause any damage to the human body.

Both the National Cancer Institution and the American Cancer Society also argue that this claim is false. Both state that there is currently no scientific evidence to prove that cell phones cause any sort of cancer within the body.

I recommend you check multiple sources rather than just one when fact checking a claim in the future.

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/radiation-exposure/cellular-phones.html

https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard#:~:text=Cell%20phones%20emit%20low%20levels%20of%20non%2Dionizing%20radiation%20when,increases%20cancer%20risk%20in%20humans.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

Answer 4

The claim that smartphones increase your risk to cancer is not true. The FDA states that the amount and type of radiation that comes from cell phones is much too low. Along with that, there is not enough data to prove this in a reliable and consistent way. National Cancer Institute claims that even when looking in to see if cancer rates have increased since the the start of smartphone usage, there is no increase in it and the cancers looked at have remained stable since then. American Cancer Society talks about how smartphones use radio frequency waves which many are concerned about causing cancer, but these waves don't have enough energy to effect you especially when looking at their effect on damaging your DNA cells. Therefore, as of now, smartphones do not actually increase your risk of getting cancer.

https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard#:~:text=Cell%20Phones%20and%20Radio%20Frequency%20Energy&text=The%20type%20of%20radiation%20emitted,increases%20cancer%20risk%20in%20humans.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/radiation-exposure/cellular-phones.html

Comments

This is a very strong factcheck with good sources. Using the FDA and cancer resources strengthens your claim heavily.

Answer 5

The claim that the article makes is that spending 17 minutes a day on a cell phone over the course of 10 years can increase your chances of developing cancerous tumors by 60 percent. This claim is false. The FDA states that phones do not create any significant amount of radiation, however the Dailymail article does link to a research paper that verifies it's claim. The research that Dailymail links looks sketchy, and I notice that no other factchecking comments on this claim mention it. Perhaps it is not a reputable source, I am not familiar with it. Below I've linked the US government's research which I trust more, and I've linked the research that Dailymail uses.

Government source: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet#:~:text=FDA%2C%20which%20originally%20nominated%20this,including%20childhood%20cancer%20(9).

Dailymail's source: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/8079#B7-ijerph-17-08079

Comments

You did a very good job on finding evidence from reliable sources for your factcheck. I agree that the Dailymail link does not look very reputable. The US government research is reliable and seems to prove this wrong.

Answer 6

The Daily Mail's claim is that our cell phones emit radiation, and using our phones for 17 minutes a day can increase your risk of developing a tumor by 60%. This claim is entirely false. The Daily Mail is known for being an untrustworthy source, and created a click bait title to get people to view their article. The article itself even acknowledged that the US Food and Drug Administration denies a link to cell phone radiation and tumor growth, disproving its own theory.

The National Cancer Institute spoke about the concern, stating that "There are no other clearly established dangerous health effects on the human body from radiofrequency radiation." Moreover, Cancer Research UK said "But the radiation that mobile phones or phone masts transmit and receive is very weak. It does not have enough energy to damage DNA so is highly unlikely to be able to cause cancer." Both sources are well known and reliable, and agree that the radiation emitted from a cell phone is not enough to damage the human body in any way.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet#is-the-radiation-from-cell-phones-harmful

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/cancer-myths/do-mobile-phones-cause-cancer#:~:text=No.,waves%20from%20phones%20are%20dangerous.

Comments

I like that you found multiple pieces of evidence that debunk this claim. Additionally, finding evidence from scientific journals is even more helpful.

Answer 7

DailyMail.com makes a very bold claim in its article, one that is verifiably false, in the article DailyMail.com makes the claim that if you use your phone for seventeen minutes a day over the course of ten years your risk of developing cancer increases as much as 60%. While a bold claim its also one clearly made for clicks. The FDA and National Cancer Institute have looked into it and debunked it themselves. The type of energy that cellphones emit known as radio frequency energy has been looked into and as the National Cancer institute put it "These frequencies all fall in the nonionizing range of the spectrum, which is low frequency and low energy. The energy is too low to damage DNA." So no this claim is not true, it is verifiably false.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

https://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/cell-phones/do-cell-phones-pose-health-hazard#:~:text=The%20type%20of%20radiation%20emitted,increases%20cancer%20risk%20in%20humans 

Answer 8

This claim is false. Lots of people argue in support of what this article says and say that the radiation from cell phones causes/increases the likelihood of cancer, but this is untrue. According to the National Cancer Institute, the radiation emitted by cell phones are non-ionizing, meaning the energy it emits is not powerful enough to harm DNA. The only effect that the type of radiation given off by cell phones has on humans is heating the part of the body where the cell phone was held. Additionally, the linked article's claim that just 17 minutes of phone time a day over the span of a decade makes tumors 60% more likely to develop is only supported by research from one study done at UC Berkeley and is directly debunked by the National Cancer Institute

Info: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet

Answer 9

False.

In the article, the Daily Mail references Joel Moskowitz’s study on the connection and correlation between cell phone usage and cancerous tumors, mainly in the head and neck. While Joel Moskowitz is a respected UC Berkeley Center for Family and Community Health director, his study was biased, inconclusive, and unreliable. As the Los Angeles Times discusses, eight out of the 23 epidemiological studies conducted showed there was a ten to thirty percent increased risk of cancerous tumors with chronic cell phone users. Moskowitz admitted that 15 low-quality studies resulted in no associated, negative association, or protective effect. Additionally, seven of those eight studies were conducted by Dr. Lennart Hardell, an oncologist in Sweden. Hardell’s studies are familiar with criticisms from peers in the field; in 2002, his research on wireless cell phones and cancer was debunked by the European Journal of Cancer Prevention for its methodological flaws. Overall, Moskowitz and Hardell’s research on cancer and cell phones is inconsistent at best. Currently, the FDA states that there is no consistent evidence that the low levels of non-ionizing radiation emitted by cell phones, radios, and televisions increase cancer risks in humans.

Answer 10

This claim is false. An article presented above made specific claims, but lacked reliable sources elsewhere. My research found no definitive studies proving phone use directly causes cancer. While some studies raise concerns, they focus on potential effects, not established risks. Importantly, phones emit low-energy, non-ionizing radiation, unlike X-rays linked to cancer. According to cancer.gov, this radiation is too weak to damage DNA or harm health. 

sources: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/cell-phones-fact-sheet