Nokia Says No Evidence Mobile Phones Hurt Brain
Reuters
May 25, 1999
Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia said on Tuesday that available medical research showed no evidence of a link between radiation from mobile phones and brain tumours.
“In the light of current research studies there is no evidence that mobile phones are a health risk,” Nokia spokeswoman Liisa Nyyssonen told Reuters.
The British Broadcasting Company’s (BBC) Panorama programme on Monday quoted two researchers as saying the microwave radiation from handsets absorbed by the brain could increase chances of getting a brain tumour.
The report was disputed by the industry representatives and the National Radiological Protection Board watchdog agency, the BBC said on its website.
Suspicions that mobile phones could be harmful have surfaced regularly in news media. Mobile phone makers have said they are as interested as much as anybody else in finding out if there is any effect on health.
“We follow very closely everything happening in mobile phone research and product development’s starting point is that the products should be safe to use,” Nokia’s Nyyssonen said.
She said the phones had to conform to official radiation standards and that radiation levels were in any case gradually decreasing as new, more efficient models are released.
Shares in Nokia and its Swedish rival Ericsson fell on Tuesday as the Panorama report added momentum to selling pressure primarily caused by losses in the technology sector in the United States.
Nyyssonen said that previous scares failed to dent sales.