Monday, March 31, 2008

Legal Pub, Look! No Hands! Why? Dr. Khurana Pontificates And Surfer Dude Translates ~by Surfer Dude 2012 Scientific Update



Why Hands Free? An obvious reason for laying down your cell phone is it frees up your hands so that you have better balance while boarding. Similarly, on land, it allows you to be more creative with your hands during a date. Perhaps another reason is offered by a recent study by some intellectual dude, Dr Vini Khurana. The good Doc suggests that cell phone use increases a cell phone user’s risk of brain cancer. That is a gnarly thought and as a life long member of A.A. the thought of being a user does not leave me warm and fuzzy inside.
This Dude’s scribbling was submitted to the IoS in October. What this intellectual community is verbalizing is what some of us beach bums always suspected, – that using cell phones for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer.

Now what does a surfer like me know about cancer? Nothing other than all the dudes say that if you smoke too much, inhale 20 lbs of asbestos daily or flash a nuclear reactor for three years, that you may get the dreaded disease. But what the egg heads say is that cancers typically take at least a decade to develop. This makes it hard to prove what really caused a given person’s cancer. Now if you are 90 years old and regularly use a cell phone, I really don’t think you are going to give a rats ass about this study. On the other hands, younger folks may want to pay attention.
Now the French are not my favorite dudes. Their surfing sucks and their rep is one of not being too friendly to yanks. Yet to their credit, earlier this year, the French government warned their peeps against cell phone use by children. (How many of us see teens with their cell phone glued to their glowing head?) The Croats and the European Environment Agency have also called for reduction of cell phone use and radiation from phones.
Why listen to this egg head? Professor Khurana is a neurosurgeon. (That is a brain surgeon you teens whose brain has already been reduced to moron status by the cell phone radiation.) Dr Khurana has received 14 awards, published more than three dozen scientific papers, reviewed more than 100 studies on cell phones, and he is either really smart or very well connected with the establishment. More important, the dude has instant credibility because he has a cool brain surgery website.



Should we throw our cell phones away? No way. They can save lives in emergencies. But it probably makes sense even to us members of the beach community to minimize our exposure with less talk time more hands free with the device away from our head whenever possible. Let me emphasize that a growing number of egg heads think this is a dangerous situation and that makes me want to share the news with others. Dr. Khurana puts his warning in perspective: "It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking." Professor Khurana, also suggested to the IoS that three billion people now use cell phones which is three times as many who smoke. The Cancer Society says smoking kills five million worldwide each year. Alleged exposure to asbestos in Britain is thought to kill more people then British traffic accidents.
The Mobile Operators Association basically disagree with Dr. Khurana's study and suggests it does not present a “balanced analysis" of the published science. They also claim it is contrary to more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews. Of course, some non surfers and non aviators still claim the world is flat.



Lesson: For all of you hot chicks, pay attention. Next time a guy in a bar gives you his cell phone and drops the pick up line, “I will call you.” Tell him no thanks and giving him back his nuclear reactor (cell phone.) Or better yet, pick up a land line and call Surfer Dude and I will take you to a beach bonfire.
-Surfer Dude

Update: It was unintentional, but the comments have morphed into "pickup lines" and "ice breaking openers." Enjoy.


Update 5-31-11: Recent literature on cell phone usage has caused us to ignore the chatter for a while. Radiation from cell phones may possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform. 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team concluded that personal exposure was "possibly carcinogenic to humans."There was some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users. They have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers.

Update 5-10-12:   There are 303 million cell phone subscribers in the United StatesThere are approximately five billion cell phone subscribers in the world. A study proving that cell phone use causes brain cancer or other harmful health effects would cause a lot of litigation.  India, recently announced a plan to require manufacturers to prominently display the level of radiation emitted by cell phones. There is also local support in the United States to prevent construction of cell phone towers near schools. Cell phones emit a electromagnetic radiation called radiofrequency (RF which comes in the form of  ionizing and non-ionizing.)  To date, heating of body tissue is the only proven biological effect of RF energy.

The amount of RF energy absorbed from the phone is called the specific absorption rate (SAR) which is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The current SAR limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram of body weight.  Does RF energy from cell phone use affect the brain and other tissues in the head which in turn causes cancerous (malignant tumors such as gliomas) and noncancerous brain tumors (for example acousitc neuromas, menigiomas, and parotid gland tumors)? 
Radiation emitted by cell phones is much lower than that emitted by x-rays, gamma rays, or even microwaves. Although exposure to high levels of RF radiation can cause harmful health effects, it remains unclear whether the lower levels of RF radiation emitted by cell phones are similarly dangerous. Epidemiology studies are difficult because of the lengthy latency period between RF exposure and the onset of brain tumors. Conclusive long-term data about cell phone related RF exposure may not be available for another generation. However, a recent Swedish study in 2011, found an increased risk for gliomas, a malignant brain tumor type, particularly as the latency time and cell phone hour usage increased. On the other hand, a Europeon study conducted solely on children and adolescents with brain tumors suggested that cell phone users were not statistically significantly more likely to develop brain cancer than nonusers.

The June 2010 Interphone Study suggested that the risk for gliomas, acoustic neuromas, meningiomas, and parotid gland tumors were associated with cell phone use based on a decade of research. Specifically, while the study found no statistically significant correlation between cell phone usage and the increased incidence of malignant brain tumors, it did find a possible link between the development of one type of nonmalignant brain tumor, gliomas, and heavy cell phone use. The study proclaimed a 40 percent increase in risk for gliomas for people who used their cell phones for an average of 30 minutes per day over a 10 year period.

In May of 2011, 31 scientists from 14 countries met at the International Agency for Research Center (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Lyon, France.  The scientists reviewed studies associated with cell phone RF exposure and concluded that RF electromagnetic fields may be “possibly carcinogenic” to humans based on an increased risk for gliomas.  Their conclusion relied heavily upon the review of hundreds of scientific journals articles regarding RF energy.  However, the United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) recently announced that there is “no convincing evidence that RF fields cause genetic damage or increase the likelihood of cells becoming malignant.” Yet the HPA cautioned, that long-term effects of cell phone radiation are still unknown, as cell phones have only been in use since the 1990s: " [o]ne can’t know what the long-term consequences are of something that has been around for only a short period” said Anthony Swerdlow, who chaired the HPS review group. The HPA also stated that “excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged.”
 Participation bias and/or other methodological limitations may cause the results of the study to be questioned.
 
Personal injury suits based on the health risks associated with cell phones often fail because of a lack of proof on causation.  Many courts conclude opinion testimony as to causeation is scientifically unreliable. For example, in Reynard v. NEC, 887 F. Supp. 1500 (M.D. Fla. 1995), the court granted summary judgment to the defendants because the plaintiffs’ evidence did not satisfy their burden of showing an issue of material fact regarding causation and did not satisfy the evidentiary requirements under Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1993). A similar result occurred in Newman v. Motorola, Inc., 218 F. Supp. 2d 769 (D. Md. 2002), aff’d Newman v. Motorola, Inc., 78 Fed. Appx. 292 (4th Cir. 2003). Plaintiff's experts to date have struggled to prove the reliabity of theri opinion necessary to comply with Daubert standards.

State courts rarely get to address the issue because federal regulations appear to preempt state law. See Farina v. Nokia, Inc., 625 F.3d 97 (3d Cir. 2010); Murray v. Motorola, Inc., 982 A.2d 764 (D.C. 2009).  However, in Pinney v. Nokia, Inc., 402 F.3d 430 (4th Cir. 2005), the U.S. Court of Appeals decided to let the state claim to go forward. 

Until there is definitive scientific proof establishing a causal link between long term cell phone use and cancer, plaintiffs’ will struggle with litigation. The good news is that more studies are on their way and hopefully the controvery will be resolved one way or the other.    


40 comments:

Ms Calabaza said...

OK, I get it now . . . 'splain puhleeze?

Legal Pub said...

Editor misfire. Article is up now.Thanks for texting the article California Surfer Dude. (Bet the bill will be a fortune!)

Anonymous said...

My God! I was making a call when I was reading this and I dropped my cell phone. This could be a huge epidemic in 10 years if Khurana is correct!

Jill

Anonymous said...

Come on, Surfer Dude. I got a better technique for dates then an old cell phone trick.

*talking loudly on cell phone while walking by girl*

"It's hard to get out anymore being a doctor, stock broker, AND a lawyer. If it weren't for my mansion, my yacht, and my helicopter, I'd REALLY go crazy..."

*hangs up*

"Oh Hello"


Jester

Anonymous said...

The best line a man ever used on me did involve a cell phone.
A young aspiring actor type walked up to me and said:

"Excuse me, I seem to have lost my phone number, can I have yours?"


Shell

Anonymous said...

I got one for you Shell (yes, if it works, I really want a date.)

Jack: Did it hurt?
Shell: Did what hurt?
Jack: When you fell from heaven?


Jack To The Rack

Ms Calabaza said...

Ah,
that was so nice "jack to the rack" but I suspect Shell prefers the subtlety of Iron Mike . . .

Anonymous said...

For a left coast type of Dude, I thought I was pretty original.

I walked up to a beautiful woman and said, "how much does a polar bear weigh?"

She looked at me funny and I said ..."enough to break the ice."

Maybe corny, but it worked for me in the fourth grade.

But my best post kiddie line was also with a cell phone that had a camera. This beautiful woman was sitting with her friends at a table near me. I was with three of my buddies and two random girls. I wanted to meet the beautiful woman so I walked over and asked her to take a picture of our group. After the photo, I walked back over to her and thanked her. Then I introduced myself and ended up walking up and down the beach with her that night.

So, I guess cell phones are not all bad.

Surfer Dude

Anonymous said...

Hey, comedians from Canada get action too! Here is what I do. On a snowy night I go up to the best looking lady in the club and say

Me: Hey, did you know we were supposed to get about 5 inches to night?
Her: No, really?
Me: Yeah....if you come back to my place I can make it 8!


Over in the Europe scene, I play the tourist card.

Me: Excuse me, I am from the states visiting and it is obvious that you must be royalty!

Lady: Why do you say that?

Me: Cuz, in MY book, as fine as you are, your father must be KING!!

Never fails to get a laugh out of a European girl, even the German's with the hairy arm pits.

Ms Calabaza said...

Surfer Dude,

I can't believe you texted this whole post. Interesting. I wonder if we should all use "speaker" feature from now on . . .

Anonymous said...

Iron Mike said...

Ms. Calabaza, Thanks for the thoughts but Mrs. Iron Mike is not likely to approve of me dating anyone.

But if I were to use a pick up line, I am such an honest guy that I would probably say this:

Okay, so I came over here to ask you to dance, but I'm concerned. I assume we will hit it off really well, end up having a few drinks, next thing you know you're giving me your number because I'm too shy to ask for it. Then, I will finally get up the nerve to call you for a movie. We will have dinner and both start to relax. Then we will go out a few more times and get to know each other's friends. Then we will spend an incredible amount of time together. We will eventually get past this sexual tension and develop exceptional sexual chemistry together. Then we will decide our relationship is solid and stable, so we move in together. A few months later we will get married.

I get a promotion. You get a promotion. We buy a bigger house. I really want kids, but you want freedom to reach the top of your profession. We have a kid anyway. I become resentful because we only have one, you are resentful because it delayed your climb to the top of your career by 3 years. The sparks start to fade and to rekindle them we have two more lovely kids. But now I work too much to keep up with the bills and you have to go back to work with your career path further delayed. You have no time for me and I am stressed. We stop taking good care of ourselves.

To get past our slow sex life and my declining self-confidence I turn to an outside affair for sexual gratification. Since I am a lousy liar, you discover the affair and justifiably throw me out. We have to explain to the kids why mommy and daddy are splitting up.

That's just too sad. Think about our children. For God's sake, if you dance with me and we hit it off, let's just keep it strictly sexual since we both know where it's going.

Iron Mike

Did You Stop to Think? said...

Ah, you're making it too complicated. Simply walk up to a woman, wait for a sec, then say, "Go get your coat."

I'm flattered and pleased to announce that you can now get the actual real stories and advice from "Go is a Woman: Dating Disasters" in Russian. Yup, the Russian version will be released tomorrow, April 1st, in all Russian speaking countries. It's very nice; hardcover w/a jacket, etc. I put a picture up of it on my blog. I think the title there is "Sex Hunter" or something like that! (Yeah, they decided to play up the sex angle, apparently.)

Back when I was getting my feet wet and learning how to talk to women, I did have one gimmick I used until I got comfortable that worked to get things rolling. Follow the instructions as you read:

"Choose a number from 2 to 9. Don't tell me the number... multiply it by 9... add the two digits together... subtract five... make it equal to a letter in the alphabet--1 would be A, 2 would be B, etc... Think of a country beginning w/that letter... now take the last letter of that country and think of an animal beginning w/it... now take the last letter of that animal and think of color. I have no idea what your number is but why are you thinking of an orange kangaroo from Denmark?"

I got so good at this, I could tell when a woman made a different choice and guess "Tan cat from Dominican Republic." Want to know how it works? Yeah, so do the women you use it on...

Anonymous said...

Thanks Ian, you are the bomb. Now I know what to look for so that a girl like me can protect herself against all the men out their except for the hotties.


Brenda

Legal Pub said...

I guess I will share my best stuff. When I met the woman of my dreams, I carefully and politely asked to see the tag on her shirt. When I looked I said, "Gees, I would have sworn that you were made in heaven."

J.F. responded, "I am, you are looking at the wrong tag."

And the rest, folks, is history.

Anonymous said...

Step aside for the master:

Chicks dig a guy who lets a girl know that he has a sense of humor.
If it hits her the right way, she is yours.

Master: Miss, is that a mirror in your pocket?

Her: No. Why

Master: Cause I can see myself in your pants. Why don't you get your coat?

Anonymous said...

Well, I am just an apprentice so my lines are a little weaker.

Apprentice: (Looking into her eyes) Do you have a map?

Gal: No why?

Apprentice: Cause I could get lost staring into your beautiful eyes.

Then smile and begin to turn away. Then say: I am ________. I need to go but I would really like to talk to you some time. Please write down your number so that we can chat.

Anonymous said...

You guys are cheese heads! All you need to do to get in a girls pants are to be: rich, handsome, funny, or lucky. Fact is it does not hurt to be all four.


Jennifer C.

For a good time call (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Anonymous said...

How did such a serious topic get so far off topic?

This surfer dude is a funny guy with a real serious warning that needs to be given its proper due!


Doc

Anonymous said...

Just to show you that I am not a stuffed shirt ( in case any hot chicks are in fact reading this stuff)

I have used the following with success in my premed days:

"You know what would look good on you?" -------"me"

or

" You know what would look good on your floor?"------my pants

Doc

Anonymous said...

This is serious stuff! Cell phones are a health hazard. So are some of these cheezy lines that are going to get you slapped!


Nancy the Nurse

Ms Calabaza said...

. . . had a busy day and night and just popped in to see the comments. What a riot!

See whatcha started Surfer Dude . . .

Iron Mike,
that was an awesome hmmm . . . line? I didn't mean anything with regard to Shell, it's just that sometimes it seems you two don't agree and I've always found that kinda cute.

LP,
that is the cutest line and comeback I've heard in a long while . . .

My husband didn't have a line, he just acted dumb. We were in a class together and he kept telling me he was having trouble remembering everything. I offered him my detailed, neurotically organized and outlined notes. He got an A in the class; I got a B. He also got me. . . he still laughs about that.

Secrets said...

These are some of the corniest lines I've ever heard.
But if I had to pick the best one, it would have to go to Legal. That was the most original line!

Close second to the clown from toronto.

comedysecrets.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

This is great stuff! I can't wait to try it this weekend. Beats the heck out of my standard line:


Hello. You look real familiar. Where do I recognize you from?

Boy wonder

Anonymous said...

This is great stuff! I can't wait to try it this weekend. Beats the heck out of my standard line:


Hello. You look real familiar. Where do I recognize you from?

Boy wonder

Anonymous said...

Dr. Khurana thanks for the heads up on the cell phone glued to my kids head.

Anonymous said...

Surfer Dude, what a great way to simplify the universe into an easy to understand warning about cell phones. You rock!


Jerry

Anonymous said...

My best line was always to go up to a girl and ask:

So what cheesy line did that guy try to use on you?

Legal Pub said...

One more secret revealed. On the first date with J.F., I looked into her eyes and said, "You must be from Tennessee?

J.F. No, I am not. But my folks live in North Carolina. Why did you think I was from Tennessee?

L.P. Because you are the only ten that I see!

Anonymous said...

A woman would have to be brain dead from chronic cell phone use for any of these lines to ever work!


Bertha

Anonymous said...

Back on topic:

A study (conducted by Hardell et al.) compared 233 brain cancer patients, diagnosed between 1994 and 1996, to 466 controls in Sweden. The second (conducted by Muscat et al.) compared 469 brain cancer patients, diagnosed between 1994 and 1998, in New York, Providence and Boston, with 422 controls. The third and largest study (conducted by Inskip et al.) was conducted in Phoenix, Boston and Pittsburgh. It compared 782 brain cancer patients, diagnosed between 1994 and 1998, with 799 controls.

A Danish study (conducted by Johansen et al.) attempted to link data on 420,095 cell phone users in Denmark between 1982 and 1995, to the Danish Cancer Registry and found the same results as the previous case-control studies. The conclusion?

The brain cancer patients didn't report more cell phone use than the subjects who were free of brain cancer. In fact, most of the studies showed a tendency toward lower risk of brain cancer among cellular phone users. No particular type of brain cancer was consistently associated with cell phone use.


No specific locations of tumors within the brain were considered, associated with cell phone usage.

No previous study has shown a clear link between the side of the head on which the brain cancer occurred and the side on which the cellular phone was used.


Animal experiments have yielded conflicting results. A few studies suggest that low levels of RF could accelerate the development of cancer in rats.

However, many of the studies used rats that had been genetically engineered to be predisposed to develop cancer. Other studies exposed the animals to RF for up to 22 hours per day.

Since these conditions are not similar to human wireless phone usage, the significance of such studies is unknown.

In sum, the majority of evidence shows no consistent association between cell phone use and brain cancer. More research is needed before any definite conclusions can be known. In the interim, keep using the cell phone to communicate and pick up people in the bars.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for allowing the balanced comments!

Anonymous said...

Talk about bad Kharma...

Anonymous said...

Surfer Dude, the scientist surfer!

Anonymous said...

Pick up. I am the Jedi master.

Go up to the woman. Look her in the eyes. Then turn and walk away. Take two steps, look back and say:

Yup there is beauty in those eyes.. whenever they are focused on me.

Jedi

Anonymous said...

God is great, beer is good and spammer are crazy!

No cell phone excuse here. Forget it spammers.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Legal Pub said...

Attention Spammers:

Your spam will be deleted and you will be billed for advertising. Don't do it unless you want to be billed!

Legal Pub said...

Stop spamming on this site or you will be charged for advertising. Simply don't do it!

Legal Pub said...

Update 5-31-11: Recent literature on cell phone usage has caused us to ignore the chatter for a while. Radiation from cell phones may possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform. 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team concluded that personal exposure was "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
There was some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users. They have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers

Legal Pub said...

Update 5-10-12: There are 303 million cell phone subscribers in the United States. There are approximately five billion cell phone subscribers in the world. A study proving that cell phone use causes brain cancer or other harmful health effects would cause a lot of litigation. India, recently announced a plan to require manufacturers to prominently display the level of radiation emitted by cell phones. There is also local support in the United States to prevent construction of cell phone towers near schools. Cell phones emit a electromagnetic radiation called radiofrequency (RF which comes in the form of ionizing and non-ionizing.) To date, heating of body tissue is the only proven biological effect of RF energy.

The amount of RF energy absorbed from the phone is called the specific absorption rate (SAR) which is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The current SAR limit is 1.6 watts per kilogram of body weight. Does RF energy from cell phone use affect the brain and other tissues in the head which in turn causes cancerous (malignant tumors such as gliomas) and noncancerous brain tumors (for example acousitc neuromas, menigiomas, and parotid gland tumors)?
Radiation emitted by cell phones is much lower than that emitted by x-rays, gamma rays, or even microwaves. Although exposure to high levels of RF radiation can cause harmful health effects, it remains unclear whether the lower levels of RF radiation emitted by cell phones are similarly dangerous. Epidemiology studies are difficult because of the lengthy latency period between RF exposure and the onset of brain tumors. Conclusive long-term data about cell phone related RF exposure may not be available for another generation. However, a recent Swedish study in 2011, found an increased risk for gliomas, a malignant brain tumor type, particularly as the latency time and cell phone hour usage increased. On the other hand, a Europeon study conducted solely on children and adolescents with brain tumors suggested that cell phone users were not statistically significantly more likely to develop brain cancer than nonusers.