• 20:33, 2 JUN 2018
• Updated20:38, 2 JUN 2018

Companies including Blackberry, EE, Nokia and Vodafone have told investors they could face legal action from device users if research eventually finds links between their products and cancer.

Top mobile firms are warning ­shareholders about the potential health risks of phones but keeping the information from customers.

Companies including Blackberry, EE, Nokia and Vodafone have told investors they could face legal action from device users if research eventually finds links between their products and cancer.

British Telecom, which owns EE, tells investors starkly in its 2017 annual report: “We can’t provide absolute ­assurance that research in the future won’t establish links between radio frequency emissions and health risks.”

And Nokia says: “There have been some research results that indicated the possibility that electromagnetic waves emitted from mobile devices and base stations have adverse health effects, such as increasing the risk of cancer.”

The news comes after we revealed brain cancer patient Neil Whitfield, 60, is the first Briton to sue a phone maker and could win up to £1million from Nokia if successful.

Mr Whitfield said: “If companies are warning investors there is a possible risk they should be warning people who use their phones and networks.

“They are being selective with the truth and have decided those with money are more important than the general public.”

A court in Italy recently ruled a link between tumours and mobiles and the International Agency for Research into Cancer says they are a “possible carcinogenic.”

And in France, Orange has recalled around 90,000 Hapi 30 phones because of the device’s radiation level.

Devra Davis, president of the Environmental Health Trust, said: “Financial threats from litigation are growing in step with scientific evidence linking phones to health damages.

“Further still, the Italian court ­decision indicates any firm that requires mobile use as a ­condition of work faces major liability.”

The news comes after we revealed brain cancer patient Neil Whitfield, 60, is the first Briton to sue a phone maker and could win up to £1million from Nokia if successful (Image: Sunday Mirror)

Blackberry and Nokia warn shareholders of possible legal action in reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nokia says despite adhering to regulations “concerns over the adverse effects on health… could make it difficult to acquire and retain customers”.

Vodafone says there is “no evidence” of harm but adds: “A change to this view could result in… impacts.” Blackberry says “perceived risks” could affects sales and lead to legal battles.

Most studies find no link with cancer but others claim they increase the risk of brain cancer.

Mr Whitfield blames Nokia phones for giving him an acoustic neuroma on a nerve between his inner ear and brain.

“His case could open the floodgates and he said: “Phone companies don’t give a jot about health.”

“I’m in the autumn of my life but I worry about the next generation who spend hours each day glued to their phones.”

Nokia is fighting his claim and said safety “has always been a key consideration”, adding: “All products comply with exposure guidelines and limits set by public health ­authorities.”

More on the topic:

Mobile Phones,Brain Tumours and Court Cases

Aggressive Brain Tumors on the Rise in England

The post Top mobile phone firms warning shareholders over devices’ possible cancer risks – but fail to tell customers appeared first on EMFSA.

Cancers in the head and neck are increasing in Sweden

The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and some experts with ties to industry have argued during the last years that there are no health risks from mobile phone use since there is no increased incidence in brain tumours in Swedish and other cancer registries. This new data shows that the argument is not only wrong from an ethical point, it is also not in line with the data.

The Swedish Radiation Protection Foundation urges that the public is broadly informed about the health risks and that urgent measures to protect children and adults from health risks from mobile phone radiation are put in place, in line with the demand from over 230 scientists in EMF Scientists appeal, signed by 236 scientists. https://www.emfscientist.org/index.php/emf-scientist-appeal

Recently, Lennart Hardell’s group published a new article on brain tumor rates in Sweden using the Inpatient Register for the time period 1998-2015. Also incidence data using the Swedish Cancer Register was analyzed for the same time period. The full article can be found here http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185461 The abstract is below.

Hardell’s group used the Swedish Inpatient Register (IPR) to analyze rates of brain tumors of unknown type (D43) during 1998-2015. Average Annual Percentage Change (AAPC) per 100,000 increased with +2.06%, 95% confidence interval (CI) +1.27, +2.86% in both genders combined. A joinpoint was found in 2007 with Annual Percentage Change (APC) 1998-2007 of +0.16%, 95% CI -0.94, +1.28%, and 2007-2015 of +4.24%, 95% CI +2.87, +5.63%. Highest AAPC was found in the age group 20-39 years. In the Swedish Cancer Register the age-standardized incidence rate per 100,000 increased for brain tumors, ICD-code 193.0, during 1998-2015 with AAPC in men +0.49%, 95% CI +0.05, +0.94%, and in women +0.33%, 95% CI -0.29, +0.45%. The cases with brain tumor of unknown type lack morphological examination. Brain tumor diagnosis was based on cytology/histopathology in 83% for men and in 87% for women in 1980 in the Cancer Register. This frequency increased to 90% in men and 88% in women in 2015. During the same time period CT and MRI imaging techniques were introduced and morphology is not always necessary for diagnosis. If all brain tumors based on clinical diagnosis with CT or MRI had been reported to the Cancer Register the frequency of diagnoses based on cytology/histology would have decreased in the register. The results indicate underreporting of brain tumor cases to the Cancer Register. The real incidence would be higher. Thus, incidence trends based on the Cancer Register should be used with caution. Use of wireless phones should be considered in relation to the change of incidence rates.

Further reading:

BioInitiative Report: Medical concerns intensify over deadly brain tumors from cell phone use / Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden/November 17, 2017

Press Announcement BioInitiative Working Group 2017

BioInitiative Report: Medical concerns intensify over deadly brain tumors from cell phone use / Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden/November 17, 2017

This new update from the BioInitiative Working Group 2017 shows the evidence has strengthened for brain cancers related to wireless phone use. The Group has released an update analyzing scientific results of case-control studies published between 2010 and 2017 on cancers of the brain.

For glioma, a malignant brain cancer with a very poor survival rate especially for high-grade
glioma, there is nearly a doubling of the risk overall if the cell phone is used for 1,640 hours or
more. If the cell phone is used primarily on the same side of the head however, the odds of
getting a tumor on that side of the head increase to more than two and a half times compared to
those with no wireless phone exposure.
Survival time after brain tumor diagnosis is also shorter with wireless phone use in patients with
glioblastoma multiforme, compared to patients with no use.

“There is a consistent pattern of increased risk for glioma (a malignant brain tumor) and
acoustic neuroma with use of mobile and cordless phones” says Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD,
Orebro University, Sweden, according to publications through mid-2017. “Epidemiological
evidence shows that radiofrequency should be classified as a Group 1 (Known) Human
Carcinogen. The evidence for risks to health from brain tumors has substantially increased since
2010. The existing FCC/IEEE and ICNIRP public safety limits are not adequate to protect public
health.”
An increased risk in acoustic neuroma (a non-malignant tumor of the auditory nerve) is also
reported. Cell phone users with 1,640 hours or more of use are nearly two and three-quarters
more likely than non-users to develop an acoustic neuroma when the phone is used primarily on
the side of the head where the tumor occurs.
Both cell phones and cordless phones pose a risk of brain tumors.

Link to the Bioinitiative Press Announcement below:http://www.bioinitiative.org/bioinitiative-report-medical-concerns-intensify-over-deadly-brain-tumors-from-cell-phone-use-orebro-university-hospital-sweden-november-17-2017/

BioInitiative Report Supplement 11, 2017, Hardell and Carlberg Hardell-2017-Sec11-Update-Use_of_Wireless_Phones

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