All you heavy cell phone users out there might want to google "surgeons cell phones." Sounds like some of these physicians are seeing an increase in brain tumors localized to the side of the head where cell phones are held.

As for the suggestion of an ear piece, you might google Dr. Mercola; he's a bit extreme at times, but suggests a "blue tube" that eliminates any transference of the EMF signal through the wiring that acts like another antenna.

The best protection seems to be the use of a speaker phone. When I hold my EMF meter close to the cell phone antenna, the readings are quite high, off and on; but when I hold the meter about 6 inches away, there are no increased readings. The EMF doesn't extend very far, but if you're holding the phone against your ear, six inches is a long way into the brain.

All good to know, w.c. Thanks.

I have a cell phone but keep it in my car for road emergencies. That's enough for me, as I don't really care to be "on call" more than I already am.

Though most of the early studies seem to say that that cell phones are pretty safe, it still seems, from reading the links wc posted, like the jury is still out, which makes me a little nervous. I use a Blackberry with a low SAR rating, which is good. I also use a Bluetooth ear piece, which supposedly works via FM transmissions. I do actually try to limit the extended time on the cell.

I was reading one of the blogs on this, and one of the writers made this point -"What if the effect from cell phones is healthy, like mini radiation therapy?" I thought that was pretty funny!

BTW, wc - welcome back - your insights and comments have been missed.

AMH:

Yes, it is too early to tell, but I'm concerned there are way too many folks functioning as lab rats. The British version of the FDA, or EPA (?), warns parents not to let their children be exposed. And this is prudent, as these sort of brain tumors seem to take 20-30 years to develop; this leaves us well short of a base-line for comparison, as the cell phone industry isn't yet 20 years old (in terms of widespread, frequent usage).

Thanks for your welcome. You contribute some really insightful and humorous comments on the political threads, which is a table fare too spicy for my stomach these days.

Brain tumors is one thing.
But even without that, mobile phones heat tissue and blood, changing circulation rates and patterns within the brain. As far as I know, the effects of this on memory, concentration et al have not been properly investigated.

More on this from today's Fox. com-

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,389881,00.html

yes, better safe than sorry. I really hope my fears are unfounded.