Can using mobile phones cause cancer?

It is too early to say what the long term effects of mobile phone use on health will be.

At the moment, there is no proven link between using mobile phones and developing cancer. At the same time, we don’t have any proof to say that using mobile phones does not increase our risk of developing brain cancer or indeed other types of cancer. The thing we worry about in mobile phones is the exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields and they are also produced by other wireless devices. We have not used these devices to the extent that we're doing now for very long so we don’t really know much about the possible health risk after 15 years or more usage. Therefore, the current advice from the Department of Health is that children and young people under 16 should be encouraged to only use mobile phones when it’s really important and they should only speak on the mobile for a short time. It is also a good idea to use a hands-free kit and texting instead of calling because this gives us less RF exposure.

Have a look at our News story on this topic to learn more about this.

Page updated 21 April 2015

FAQs

Can using mobile phones cause cancer?

It is too early to say what the long term effects of mobile phone use on health will be.