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reported in users of handheld 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 at 

this time, FDA has urged the mobile phone industry to take a number of steps 

to assure public safety. The agency has recommended that the industry: 
•  support needed research into possible biological effects of RF of the type 

emitted by mobile phones;  
•  design mobile phones in a way that minimizes any RF exposure to the user 

that is not necessary for device function; and  

•  cooperate in providing mobile phone users with the best possible 

information on what is known about possible effects of mobile phone use on 

human health. 
At the same time, FDA belongs to an interagency working group of the federal 

agencies that have responsibility for different aspects of mobile phone safety 

to ensure a coordinated effort at the federal level. These agencies are: 

•  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

• Environmental Protection Agency 

•  Federal Communications Commission 

•  Occupational Health and Safety Administration 

•  National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

•  The National Institutes of Health also participates in this group. 

what can concerned individuals do?  

If there is a risk from these products — and at this point we do not know that 

there is — it is probably very small. But if people are concerned about 

avoiding even potential risks, there are simple steps they can take to do so.