Siemens S46 User Manual page 101

6.11.01 S46 US DRAFT A31008-H5450-A5-*
U.S. FDA
100
In summary, we do not have enough information at this point to assure the
public that there are, or are not, any low incident health problems associated
with use of mobile phones. FDA continues to work with all parties, including
other federal agencies and industry, to assure that research is undertaken to
pro-vide the necessary answers to the outstanding questions about the safety
of mobile phones.
What is known about cases of human cancer that have been reported in users of hand-
held mobile phones?
Some people who have used mobile phones have been diagnosed with brain
cancer. But it is important to understand that this type of cancer also occurs
among people who have not used mobile phones. In fact, brain cancer occurs
in the U.S. population at a rate of about 6 new cases per 100,000 people each
year. At that rate, assuming 80 million users of mobile phones (a number in-
creasing at a rate of about 1 million per month), about 4800 cases of brain can-
cer would be expected each year among those 80 million people, whether or
not they used their phones. Thus it is not possible to tell whether any individ-
ual's cancer arose because of the phone, or whether it would have happened
anyway. A key question is whether the risk of getting a particular form of can-
cer is greater among people who use mobile phones than among the rest of
the population. One way to answer that question is to compare the usage of
mobile phones among people with brain cancer with the use of mobile
phones among appropriately matched people without brain cancer. This is
called a case-control study. The current case-control study of brain cancers by
the National Cancer Institute, as well as the follow-up research to be spon-
sored by industry, will begin to generate this type of information.
What is FDA's role concerning the safety of mobile phones?
Under the law, FDA does not review the safety of radiation emitting consumer
products such as mobile phones before marketing, as it does with new drugs
or medical devices. However, the agency has authority to take action if mobile
phones are shown to emit radiation at a level that is hazardous to the user. In
such a case, FDA could require the manufacturers of mobile phones to notify
users of the health hazard and to repair, replace or recall the phones so that
the hazard no longer exists.