Smartphone use tied to child health risks

SARGODHA:

Excessive use of smartphones is dangerous for children's health and may cause cancer as their brain tissues absorb about two times more microwave radiation than those of adults and their bone marrow soaks up to 10 times more radiation, an expert has warned.

Dr Abdur Rehman, a senior medical officer, said that low intelligence quotient and improper mental growth in children, sleep deprivation, brain tumours and psychiatric diseases were caused by excessive use of the phones.

He said excessive use of phones had an adverse effect on the body, especially on the growing skulls of toddlers, children and teenagers, which could trigger the development of brain cancer in future. Cell phones have non-ionising radiation, he added.

Researches have indicated that children and unborn babies face a greater risk for damage from microwave radiation from wireless devices.