Does Bluetooth Cause Brain Tumors?

On Jan. 27, 2015, Susan asked Dr. Lai a question. You can ask too!

Question:

Is there any known connection with developing brain tumors by wearing these [SleepPhones] on a regular basis? Thanks.

Answer:

The short answer is NO.

SleepPhones® Classic and SleepPhones® Microphone do not produce electromagnetic fields next to your head. I assume that the question is not about these but about the SleepPhones® Wireless. SleepPhones® Wireless use very low power Bluetooth® to communicate with your smart phone, computer, or MP3 player.

There is no connection between Bluetooth® devices and brain tumors.

For Bluetooth® devices, the WHO (World Health Organization), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), FCC (Federal Communications Commission), FDA (Food and Drug Administration), Bluetooth® SIG (Bluetooth Special Interest Group) or IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) have not found it necessary to issue any safety advice.

The long answer is still NO.

500mW is the typical cell phone transmission power. 2.5mW is the Bluetooth Class 2 radio, 10m range.

So Bluetooth® is actually 0.5% (half of 1%) of the power compared with cell phones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBm

While no research has been done on Bluetooth® because it uses so much less power than cell phones, we do have years and years of research on cell phones, analyzed by scientists from all over the world. Even cell phones have been deemed safe.

The World Health Organization writes,

"Results of animal studies consistently show no increased cancer risk for long-term exposure to radiofrequency fields. Several large multinational epidemiological studies have been completed or are ongoing, including case-control studies and prospective cohort studies examining a number of health endpoints in adults. The largest retrospective case-control study to date on adults, Interphone, coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was designed to determine whether there are links between use of mobile phones and head and neck cancers in adults. The international pooled analysis of data gathered from 13 participating countries found no increased risk of glioma or meningioma with mobile phone use of more than 10 years." (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs193/en/)

"Conclusions from scientific research — In the area of biological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation approximately 25,000 articles have been published over the past 30 years. Despite the feeling of some people that more research needs to be done, scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than for most chemicals. Based on a recent in-depth review of the scientific literature, the WHO concluded that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. However, some gaps in knowledge about biological effects exist and need further research." (http://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/)

Regarding mobile phone radiation, research is ongoing to continue evaluating risk beyond 10 years. To be safe, we recommend following these basic tips from the Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/5-Safety-Tips) regarding cell phone usage in general. However, we want to point out that cell phones emit 200 times more power than the Bluetooth® chip that we use. So while basic safety tips apply to cell phone use, they do not apply to our Bluetooth® device. Our device is far far safer than what's already deemed safe by multiple government agencies worldwide.

Things that also produce EMF in our everyday environment:

We believe that cell phones have gotten a bum rap, and that rubbed off on Bluetooth®.

Summary

We feel confident that all of our products, including the SleepPhones® Wireless and RunPhones® Wireless, are safe.

Disclaimer: Written by Wei-Shin Lai, MD. This should not substitute for medical advice from your doctor. Please call your doctor if you have questions about brain tumors and EMF.

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