BRITAIN: No hard evidence existed to show mobile phones damage health, but users - especially children - should take care, UK scientists said in a survey yesterday.
Britain's National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), an independent advisory group, said there have been reports of adverse health effects, but some have not been independently confirmed and were of variable quality.
"We are still recommending a precautionary approach because there is still no hard evidence that the health of the public in general has been adversely affected by the use of mobile-phone technologies," the NRPB chairman, Sir William Stewart, told a news conference.
However, Sir William added that he did not think he could put his hand on his heart and say mobile phones were totally safe because the technology was relatively new and was evolving so rapidly it was outstripping the analysis of any potential impact on health.
The Mobile Operators' Association in Britain welcomed the report. "The key point of the NRPB advice is that there is no hard information linking the use of mobile telephony with adverse health effects," said its executive director, Mr Mike Dolan.
According to the report, children might be more vulnerable because their nervous system was still developing, they have a greater absorption of energy in the tissues of the head and they would have a longer lifetime exposure. Sir William recommended children use mobiles phones for as short a time as possible.