Fresh fears on mobile phones

MOBILE PHONE users are up to two-and-a-half times more likely to develop brain tumours than non-users, and should consider using low- emission or hands-free phones, scientists have warned.

Two new studies, in Sweden and the United States, have found a correlation between exposure to microwaves emitted by mobile phones and cancer, Dr Lennard Hardell, a Swedish specialist, tells the BBC's Panorama programme tonight.

Research commissioned by the programme from the National Radiological Protection Unit reveals huge differences in levels of radiation emitted by different brands of phone.

The warning comes after a survey of 11,000 users earlier this month, which revealed that using a mobile phone for an hour a day increases memory loss, can lead to Alzheimer's and, at worst, causes cancer.

"I think that until we have the definite conclusion, the definitive results of much larger studies, we need to minimise exposure to human beings," Dr Hardell tells the programme.

A mobile-phone company insider said last night that the industry was "tracking" developments but was as yet unconvinced that enough evidence had been accumulated to prove that phones were a health risk.

The US research links mobile phones to an increased risk of a rare type of brain tumour.

Dr George Carlo, who heads a $25m (pounds 16m) research body funded by the US mobile phone industry, says the studies put pressure on manufacturers to address the "grey area" of illness caused by mobile phones. "There could be a problem that needs to be looked at very, very carefully," he said.