WRITTEN QUESTION

Submission: To the Commission

18 February 2003

According to a recent study conducted on laboratory animals by Swedish doctors at the University of Malme, it appears that the use of mobile phones may cause damage to the brain, which could affect teenagers more, who show a dramatic increase in mobile phone usage. The study highlights that there are suspicions that the radiation emitted during phone use may cause neuron necrosis, which are the basic functional cells of the brain, with the risk of reducing intellectual abilities and creating degenerative brain diseases. Additionally, the researchers found that as the intensity of the radiation increases, the number of neurons that die in the brain also increases.

This particular study differs from most of the research conducted regarding mobile phone safety, as it examines the effect on the human brain, rather than the relationship with cancer development.

The Committee is asked what measures it intends to take in order to ensure full clarification of this serious issue by conducting larger studies and monitoring the impact that long-term mobile phone use has on the human brain.