Commentary
Will Cancer Fears Cut Cell Phone Use?
- by Mark Walsh @markfwal, June 1, 2011
2011 is shaping up as another banner year for the wireless industry, with mobile and smartphone sales humming along, and tablets rapidly growing in popularity. Verizon and AT&T enjoyed big profits on the strength of their growing wireless businesses, and Android and Apple continue to expand mobile operations. And, oh yeah, cell phones may cause cancer. Cue record-scratch sound effect.
Yesterday's announcement by a World Health Organization panel that mobile phones are "possibly carcinogenic," gave added weight to existing concerns about a potential link between cell phones and brain cancer. Not surprisingly, the CTIA was quick to downplay the conclusion of the International Agency for Cancer Research, pointing out that the IARC has previously classified coffee and pickled vegetables (popular in Asia) as possibly carcinogenic.
"This IARC classification does not mean cell phones cause cancer," said John Walls, vice president of public affairs for the CTIA, in a statement that also noted both the FCC and the FDA have found the weight of scientific evidence doesn't link cell phones with cancer or other health problems.
A USA Today story today also suggested American cancer experts were skeptical of the IARC finding, which the group itself acknowledged was based on "limited" evidence. The WHO branch didn't conduct new research, but analyzed prior studies, including two as yet unpublished. The big question for now is what, if any, impact it will have on growing cell phone use the world over. How big a difference is there between cancer causing and "may be" cancer-causing in people's minds?
Adding coffee to the list of possible carcinogens obviously hasn't driven Starbucks into bankruptcy. And cell phone use in many countries has surely become as habit-forming as that morning cup of java. Even if mobile users don't give up their mobile devices altogether, could consumers begin to change how they use them because of growing cancer concerns?
One neurosurgeon interviewed in the USA Today story recommended using landlines when possible, or headsets with cords that keep cell phones at a distance. Another option: texting instead of calling. That advice suggests another bright side to what otherwise appears to be a PR nightmare for the wireless industry.
For Plantronics and other non-phone wireless gear makers, the WHO report could prove a boon, leading to higher headset sales. And an increase in texting and greater mobile data use is generally what the carriers are after anyway, right? This accelerates the shift from voice to more lucrative mobile data services. In that vein, it could also mean an unexpected windfall for video chat services like Apple's FaceTime or Skype on mobile devices.
Even if people used their landlines at home or work more, that could help telecom giants like Verizon and AT&T prop up their flagging wireline businesses. Who knows? Before long, the wireless industry itself may be talking up the health risks of holding a cell phone to your ear to boost business.
Mark Walsh can be reached at walsh@mediapost.com
I would be surprised to see any measurably significant drop in the use - or sales - of mobile phones. I agree with Mark that what is more likely to happen is that folks with a vested interest in promoting headsets, speakerphones, data messaging, and any other non-"ear-to-phone" activities will leverage the concerns (I hesitate to say "amplify" because that would imply spin!) of cell phone owners. And I guess I speak as one who has a smartphone that he uses for everything EXCEPT making phone calls!