cancer risk

New report on cellphone safety is full of electromagnetic baloney

British health officials claim their review of the research shows cellphones are safe... and I just have to wonder what research they're looking at it.

It certainly can't be the bulk of the studies published in recent years, because those show that heavy cellphone users have a 40 percent increase in the risk of potentially deadly brain tumors.

If the British Health Protection Agency thinks that's "safe," I'd hate to see what passes for dangerous!

Even the agency seems to know they've missed the mark here -- because right after declaring cellphones to be safe, they warned people to keep kids away from them.

Yeah... that sure sounds safe to me.

Listen, I even defended cellphones early on. But the research since then has been a lot clearer than the calls you get on these things. And along with brain tumors, cellphone use has been linked to tumors in the salivary gland, acoustic nerve, and thyroid.

They've also been linked to brain damage, dementia, bone loss, DNA damage, and -- if you keep them close to the crotch -- fertility problems.

(They're also a threat to your sanity, especially if you're forced to listen to someone's way-too-loud and far-too-personal conversation.)

The best and safest option is to do away with your cellphone. Completely. You got by just fine without them before, you can get by fine without them again.

But if you're not willing to give yours up, at least limit your use and keep it away from your crotch and head at all times. Keep it in a bag or briefcase, not on your hip or in your pocket.

And when you take a call, use a speakerphone, headphones, or a Bluetooth earpiece. Bluetooth also emits radiation, but 100 times less than what the cellphone itself is putting out.

Europe bans X-ray scanners; U.S. keeps using them

This holiday season, millions of American travelers -- including pregnant women and young children -- will be blasted with radiation when they pass through airport security scanners, giving them all an instant boost in their lifetime cancer risk.

Now, government officials are finally on the record admitting that these machines pose an unacceptable threat to the health and safety of passengers.

Too bad it's not our government!

The 27 nations of the European Union have just taken the bold step of banning full-body X-ray scanners from airports across the continent, a slap in the face to the U.S. government officials who still insist the machines are safe.

Those same officials, of course, won't release any actual safety data to back that claim up. They've even reneged on a promise to launch a new independent study into the scanners.

Of course, it's not hard to see why they have to lie about these machines at every turn -- because the truth is they ARE dangerous.

As I've told you before, the ionizing radiation shot out by full-body X-ray scanners has been linked to DNA damage and structural changes to the cells of your skin, both of which can lead to cancer even when the machines are working properly.

The scary part here is that these scanners are given very little testing and oversight -- and already, hundreds of them were found pumping out up to 10 times the expected levels of radiation.

The feds later claimed that was only a "math error."

Yeah, right.

If you have to fly, make like a European and opt out of these screenings -- just beware that the alternative isn't much better: A highly personal examination of every crack and orifice by a resentful low-wage airport security worker, aka the "freedom fondle."

These agents have also been known to harass, provoke and delay people who don't want to pass through the X-ray... and in some cases, they've even flat-out told passengers to get in the machine, or get lost.

There's no easy answer here beyond don't fly if you can help it. Either that, or move to Europe.