Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Aug 12, 2003 |
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Info-Tech
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Telecommunications Industry & Economy - Health No health hazards, say mobile makers P.T. Jyothi Datta
New Delhi , Aug. 11 IS the telecom industry going to be the next tobacco industry in terms of attracting health-related litigation? "Certainly not," replies Mr Michael Milligan, Secretary General of the Brussels-headquartered Mobile Manufacturers Forum (MMF). He was recently in India to gauge health-related concerns being raised by cell-phone users here. "We are not the next tobacco industry, in terms of health problems and this is borne out by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) view on the issue. The WHO had spearheaded the global ban on tobacco, but data published by them on mobile phones state that reviews have not concluded that exposure to radiofrequency fields from mobile phones or their base stations caused any adverse health consequences," Mr Milligan told Business Line. But claiming "inconclusive evidence on adverse health effects because of cell phones" could also be interpreted as "inconclusive data in establishing the safety of these gadgets", point out health sector representatives. "Research gives you limited answers on any subject. Data available till date by independent researches done by regulatory bodies do not show adverse effects," reiterates the MMF representative. Addressing related issues, he said, there were no restrictions on mobile-phone usage by children or teenagers, as manufacturers had incorporated the necessary safety requirements. But on why some markets had made it mandatory to mention the specific absorption rate (SAR) or the unit to measure the exposure standard for cell phones, he said : "It was a voluntary programme started by MMF to provided interested consumers the SAR information. Countries like Hong Kong made it mandatory, to make the information available on all handsets, in addition to MMF members." MMF is an international platform for radio equipment manufacturers comprising Alcatel, Sony, Ericsson, Nokia, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Panasonic, Philips and Siemens. Mr Milligan's visit to India was to meet officials from the Health Ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, besides telecom industry associations. In future, MMF sought to work with Indian telecom operators to make available information on cell-phone related health concerns, though consumer queries on this count were few, he observed. "Consumer queries on health are few because the market had still to reach saturation levels and consumers are still experimenting with different services and handsets," analysts observe. MMF is largely funded by mobile manufacturers for research into telecom-related health issues. But isn't this indicative of the telecom industry's fears with regard to the impact of its products on public health?
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