title: Mobile phones: time to rethink and limit usage.
abstract: Radiofrequency waves generated from mobile phones cause potential public health problems. Short-term effects like changes in sleep, heart rate, and blood pressure, and long-term effects like carcinoma are well documented. The Government of India's efforts in laying down regulations regarding the safety limits, manufacture, marketing, and mobile use are still in nascent stage. The need for stringent enforcement of laws for prevention of phone usage while driving and guidelines of medical regulatory bodies regarding rules and regulations of phone usage while at class or attending patients is of utmost importance. This should be supplemented by mass media to raise awareness among people regarding the possible health effects of radiofrequency emissions from mobile phones and the guidelines to minimize its exposure. It is the need of the hour to teach young people to be structured, to know when to have the cell phone on, and to avoid becoming the slave of technology instead of its mastery.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Bobby
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Indranil
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Samim Ferdows
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghose
mesh_terms: D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001364:Awareness; D040421:Cell Phone; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D011634:Public Health; D011846:Radio Waves / Q000009:adverse effects*