Does Mobile Phones Cause Cancer? NCC Replies

The Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), has clarified its recent comments made at a stakeholders’ forum in Ado Ekiti, saying it at no time said that mobile phones cause cancer.

The Commission in statement said:

The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has been drawn to reports in some mass media ostensibly quoting the Commission to the effect that mobile phones cause cancer.

The Commission wishes to state unequivocally that it never issued any statement or made any presentation to that effect because there is no scientific basis to make such declaration. 

To put the records straight, last week the Commission in its tradition of consistent engagement with all its stakeholders irrespective of location, organised a stakeholder forum in Ado Ekiti on type approval processes, with a focus on mobile devices. The event held at Fayose Market at the GSM Village.

At the event, the Commission’s representative told the participants to ensure that the devices they sell and use are type approved – certified by the NCC in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of the Commission.

The Commission wishes to restate its commitment not only to the protection of consumer rights but also to consumers’ education that help all stakeholders to take informed decisions. Accordingly, the Commission hereby reiterates that many studies have been conducted on the effects of non-ionizing radiation and there is no conclusive evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases the risk of cancer.

The general public may wish to visit: www.icnirp.org; www.cancer.co.uk; www.emf-portal.org where studies, writings and other scholarly works related to this matter have been published. Indeed, according to the World Health Organization, WHO:

A large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs193/en (Accessed September 5, 2017).

The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) also states:

Acute and long-term effects of HF exposure from the use of mobile phones have been studied extensively without showing any conclusive evidence of adverse health effects.

Finally, there is a parameter called Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) which has a threshold below which it is safe to use a phone, and all phones approved by the Commission have SAR below the threshold mark which makes those phones safe for use.