Have you all read the report that cell phone use does not cause brain cancer? Using a cell phone while driving does increase the risk of an accident, and using it to text is tantamount to driving while intoxicated. But a recent study shows cell phones do not increase the risk of brain cancer. Likewise high voltage power lines do not cause an increase in leukemia in kids who live nearby, and study after study shows that MMR vaccine is not a cause of autism. Yet, all these urban legions continue to be promulgated in some of the “earth” and “health” magazines.
I keep wondering why they persist! Could it be because we do not know the cause of brain cancer, leukemia, or autism, and we want to know what things we should avoid to stay healthy? Or, is it just too easy to place blame. Misplacing the blame is not harmless; it can prevent us from finding the true cause and lead some to avoid a safe preventive measure like MMR. Avoiding this important vaccine has caused a resurgence of childhood diseases.
On the other hand we know that tobacco use causes lung cancer, lip cancer, tongue cancer, and bladder cancer; yet, a quarter of American adults still smoke. We have known for many years that cervical cancer and most oral and throat cancers are sexually transmitted disease: yet we broadcast sexual activity by teenagers and unmarried adults on almost every TV show, in popular magazines, and in most movies. We now have a vaccine against HPV, the virus that causes these ills, and parents are refusing to give it to their sons and daughters. We know that obesity is related to diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure and many other ailments; yet we continue to over-feed ourselves and our kids and watch many hours of TV daily instead of exercising. We know that lack of education leads to poverty, and that poverty is linked to many diseases; yet we fail to award teachers for doing a good job, and continue to hire those teachers who don’t. Oh, and we continue to talk on our cell phones and to text while driving!
This list could go on and on, but the lesson we should learn is to spend time cultivating the habits that are proven to make us healthy, avoid those known to make us sick, and leave the speculation about what may or may not cause disease to the scientists who are capable of finding causes and cures.