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increased likelihood was too small to be statistically significant.
In summary, we do not have enough information at this point to assure
the public that there are, or are not, any low incident health problems
associated with use of mobile phones. FDA continues to work with all
parties, including other federal agencies and industry, to assure that
research is undertaken to provide the necessary answers to the outstanding
questions about the safety of mobile phones.
What is known about cases of human cancer that
have been reported in users of hand-held mobile
phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been diagnosed with
brain cancer. But it is important to understand that this type of cancer also
occurs among people who have not used mobile phones. In fact, brain
cancer occurs in the U.S. population at a rate of about 6 new cases per
100,000 people each year. At that rate, assuming 80 million users of
mobile phones (a number increasing at a rate of about 1 million per
month), about 4800 cases of brain cancer would be expected each year
among those 80 million people, whether or not they used their phones.
Thus it is not possible to tell whether any individual's cancer arose because
of the phone, or whether it would have happened anyway. A key question is
whether the risk of getting a particular form of cancer is greater among
people who use mobile phones than among the rest of the population.
One way to answer that question is to compare the usage of mobile phones
among people with brain cancer with the use of mobile phones among
appropriately matched people without brain cancer. This is called a case-
control study. The current case-control study of brain cancers by the
National Cancer Institute, as well as the follow-up research to be sponsored
by industry, will begin to generate this type of information.
What is FDA's role concerning the safety of
mobile phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation-emitting
consumer products such as mobile phones before marketing, as it does
with new drugs or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to
take action if mobile phones are shown to emit radiation at a level that is
hazardous to the user. In such a case, FDA could require the
manufacturers of mobile phones to notify users of the health hazard and
to repair, replace or recall the phones so that the hazard no longer exists.
Although the existing scientific data do not justify FDA regulatory actions
