91av

“FOR anyone who uses a mobile, these are worrying times.” So began our cover story on 10 April 1999. By then, 500 million people worldwide were using mobile phones and hysteria around their effects on health was reaching a climax. There were claims that radiation from handsets cooked your brain, scrambled your thoughts and gave you cancer. 91av tackled the question in its inimitable fashion.

Our six-page special investigation was quick to point out that microwave radiation from phones is too weak to damage DNA, and so there is no obvious way in which it could cause cancer. But anyone who was still worried could acquire a “radiation shielding device”, and we put these to the test. 91av commissioned researchers from the National Physical Laboratory in the UK, who “placed a probe in a head consisting of a human skull covered with mock flesh made from various gels”.

Under scrutiny were the “oyster radiation eliminator”, which was essentially an antenna cap; the “microshield”, a leather case inlaid with nickel to absorb radiation; and a hands-free kit. The researchers found that all of the devices reduced microwaves measured inside the mock head to some extent. The clear winner was, unsurprisingly, the hands-free kit.

Phone cases that claim to be radiation protectors remain on the market. But whether or not these products work has become irrelevant. Although you can still read scare stories about mobile phones, no evidence has been found that suggests they are harmful to your brain, despite extensive research. One study published in 2017 to phone radiation for 9 hours every day of their lives. It resulted in a minuscule level of increased risk of cancers in the rats’ brains and hearts.

There are people who use their phone for several hours a day, but most of that time is spent gazing at the screen, rather than holding it to their ears.