State Weighs Cell-Phone Cancer Warnings

A Maine lawmaker has proposed a law that would require cell phones to carry warnings that they may cause brain cancer. Maine would be the first state to have such a law. But research on cell phones and cancer has had mixed results, the National Cancer Institute says. No long-term studies have been completed. The Federal Communications Commission says cell phones are safe. Under the Maine bill, the warnings would urge users keep cell phones away from their head and body. The city of San Francisco also is considering a cell phone ordinance. It would require phones to display their “specific absorption rate.” This is the maximum amount of radiofrequency energy that the head absorbs from a particular type of phone. The Associated Press wrote about the proposed laws December 21.