Drivers who use hands-free cellular devices when they're at the wheel might be doing themselves a favor in the long run.
That's because scientists still can't say with certainty that placing a cell phone against the head is completely safe, especially for heavy users and people who began using the devices as children. They point to lingering questions over the potential health effects from the energy emitted by the phones, specifically the long- debated risk of developing brain cancer.
"It's fair to say that the data aren't all in yet," says David L. McCormick, a biologist and director of the Illinois Institute of Technology Research in Chicago, who has studied the issue. "There are a small number of epidemiological studies that have suggested a possible increase in cancer risk, but comparable studies in other populations haven't confirmed these findings."
That's not to say anyone should panic. Cell phones do produce a type of radiation, but it's of the type called nonionizing radio frequency -- a form of energy located on the electromagnetic spectrum. At the high end of the spectrum, ionizing radiation, such as that emitted by X-ray machines, has well-known dangers. But the weak signals released by nonionizing radio frequencies do not cause DNA damage, and there is no explanation for how such energy could cause cancer, McCormick says.
Most studies have not consistently demonstrated a link between cell phone use and cancer, including two studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute. Several other studies coordinated through the International Agency for Research on Cancer, called the Interphone studies, have also failed to show an association. Numerous laboratory studies on animals also have found no evidence that DNA is damaged by low levels of radio frequency, McCormick says.
But the sheer number of people now using cell phones and the volume of use, as well...

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