There are a few things that really scare people. I don't mean things like 'the dark' or cellulite. I'm talking about things that most people fear on a truly irrational level - things like radiation and cancer. It should come as no surprise then that legislators in Maine are freaking out about both. From the Associated Press:"A Maine legislator wants to make the state the first to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer, although there is no consensus among scientists that they do..."You see cell phones emit radiation and they're close your brain, so clearly they must cause cancer. The fact that there have been roughly a half-dozen peer-reviewed studies showing no link between cell phone usage and cancer rates is of no consequence. They emit radiation into your brain!
In fairness almost all of the studies do include a statement along the lines of this one from a 2007 study published in the International Journal of Cancer:
"Although our results overall do not indicate an increased risk of glioma [a type of brain cancer] in relation to mobile phone use, the possible risk in the most heavily exposed part of the brain with long-term use needs to be explored further before firm conclusions can be drawn."However the legislators in Maine seem to feel that any unproven potential health risk should require a large red WARNING label until proven safe.
"The fact that there have been roughly a half-dozen peer-reviewed studies showing no link between cell phone usage and cancer rates is of no consequence."
ReplyDeleteUntil there are a half-dozen studies showing using cell phones is bad for your health, as is the case for smoking cigarettes, I don't think there should be any legislation requiring warning signs.
*Let's not do Jenny McCarthy style science/advocacy here.* (She being the one pushing vaccinating children is leads to autism even though no studies suggest such nonsense.)
But Joe, they emit radiation!
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell, the entire argument in favor of these warnings is simply repeating the words "radiation", "cancer", and "cell phones" in random order over and over again. In math we would call this proof by vehement assertion.
"proof by vehement assertion."
ReplyDeleteYes, or like politicians are so good at: proof by unfounded fear-mongering.