Environmental Health Trust Launches Global Campaign for Safer Cell Phones in a Dozen Nations

Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH, President of EHT, will mark the launch of the campaign with a lecture on April 9 at 2:00 pm at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Lecture Hall 205, in Toronto, Canada. Admission is free to the public. In addition to discussing the campaign's goals, Dr. Davis will release a new pamphlet prepared by physicians on cell phone safety, as well as a set of creative warning stickers to be placed on phones.

"This global campaign is designed to alert the planet's five billion cell phone customers that heavy use of phones next to the body increases infertility, cancer and neurological problems," said Dr. Davis. "We're launching this campaign in Canada because this country is about to elect a new government, and the government has a duty to warn about the dangers of that cell phone in their pocket and protect the basic right to know about such risks."

The physicians pamphlet, titled "Cell Phones & Health: Simple Precautions Make Sense," was created by a group of leading US and French oncologists and neurosurgeons. It outlines steps for protecting one's family from cell phone radiation and shares recent findings about the negative impact this radiation can have the health of both adults and children. "Every cell phone comes with a set of safety warnings in small print that few read," said Dr. Davis. "People have a right to know what cell phone manufacturers are saying about their products, and this brochure is designed to spotlight that information."

The idea for the cell phone safety sticker campaign came from an EHT initiative being carried out with the Jackson, Wyoming, school system and Town Council. "We believe that kids are more likely to pay attention to cell phone safety if the warnings come in the form of stickers they can place on their phones," she said.Dr. Davis, who contributed to the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with Al Gore, testified before a U.S. Senate panel about the dangers of cell phone use, is the author of Disconnect: The Truth about Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide It, and How to Protect Your Family (Dutton, 2010). She is the first Director of the National Academy of Science's Board of Toxicology and Environmental Studies, founder and former Director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Cancer Center and is a National Cancer Center Institute Senior Fellow in Cancer Epidemiology.

Determined to protect children from the dangers of cell phone irradiation, Dr. Davis conceived the Campaign to serve as a model for communities across the US and around the globe. Via the EHT website (www.ehtrust.org), the campaign provides access to a toolbox of free downloadable materials such as "safety cards" that list safer cell phone practices, appealing to teachers, health care professionals, parents, and students alike.

All the safety materials can be downloaded on the EHT link: www.environmentalhealthtrust.org/content/downloads