Is the Cellular Phone Antenna Harmful to Your Health?

There has been a lot of debate that a cellular phone antenna can be harmful to your health. Let us look into the facts and find out whether these rumors are founded on any truth.

Are There Any Harmful Effects? If Yes, How To Prevent It?

When cars were first invented (even if the highest possible speed was about 20-30 km/hr) people were of the opinion that anyone who will use them regularly will develop dreadful diseases and die. Today, the speed of the vehicles exceeds 200 km/hr and people who drive them (or travel in them) are okay.

Similarly, it is true that the cellular phone antenna emit a certain amount of electromagnetic waves; they also use radio signals to transmit sound. While it is true that over exposure to either (or both) are indeed harmful, the amount produced by a cellular phone antenna during brief normal conversations is not really sufficient to create a long lasting harmful impact.

The warning of the health hazard had started when the Stewart Report had proved that radio waves (from the cellular phone antenna) do indeed pass through the human body. The report particularly warned about exposure to small children and advised that they should not use this device or at least very sparingly since the radiation can harm and inhibit the formation of brain cells.

One can definitely not do without a cellular phone or the cellular phone antenna. However, we can definitely take a few steps to reduce the radiation effects to the minimum possible. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Children should indeed not use cell phones unless in dire emergencies. Whenever they need to speak over the phone, they should do so from normal landlines.

2. Whenever you buy a cell phone pay special attention to the SAR (specific absorption rate) factor - the lower the SAR factor is the better it is for you since the radio emission is the least.

3. When carrying a mobile phone, keep the device as far from your body as possible. Carry it in pouches, handbags or the like so they can touch the body only during use. 

4. Keep the conversations as short as you can. This is a good advice for the pocket as well.  Short conversations are not able to emit sufficient radiation to harm the body. If the conversation has to be long, alternate often between one ear and the other so there is no continuous exposure.

5. Cut the use of the cell phone to the minimum possible when the reception is poor, as the cellular phone antenna will try to boost its power and hence the radiation to capture the signals will increase.