It was 35 years ago that the first cell phone call was made, and ever since then, scientists and doctors have debated one crucial question:
Do they cause brain cancer?
"We can't just dismiss it and say there's no risk at all," says Dr. Michael Cusimano, a brain surgeon at St Michael's hospital.
Calls about whether cell phones are dangerous to your health have been ringing off the hook for years. For every study that finds there's the potential for harm, there seems to be another one that discounts it.
But now new research has emerged about the potential hazards of the ubiquitous devices - and this one comes from someone with impeccable credentials.
Dr. Vini Khurana is considered one of the top neurosurgeons in the world, and has won 14 separate awards over the past two decades.
He's published a study that he claims links cell phone usage to an increased risk of brain cancer and suggests the pocket mobile could one day be responsible for more cancer deaths than either cigarettes or exposure to asbestos.
It's a bold and frightening statement and it's based on his review of more than 100 studies into the topic since handsets became mainstream.
Khurana notes that there are an estimated 3 billion cell phone users worldwide - three times more than people who smoke. And since many cancers take more than a decade to develop and reveal themselves to patients, often well after it's too late, he fears what may be waiting for those who constantly have one of the devices to their ears.
"There is a slight but real increase in the number of brain tumours occurring in the population," agrees Dr Cusimano. Still, he is not pushing for a cell phone ban. Dr Cusimano argues that in cell phones, like most things in life, moderation is key. He also supports a move towards hands-free phones.
One Toronto resident doesn't see it that way: "
I think I'm still going to talk on the phone. Everything gives you cancer!" jokes one man.
Dr Khurana claims it's only logical to conclude that radiation emanating from the phones isn't good for the brain and he's worried that we may soon start seeing a virtual cancer epidemic as the exposure takes its toll.
"The "incubation time" or "latency" (i.e., the time from commencement of regular mobile phone usage to the diagnosis of a malignant solid brain tumour in a susceptible individual) may be in the order of 10-20 years," he writes. "In the years 2008-2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up time to begin to definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain tumour incidence rates."
He believes using a handset for a decade or more doubles your risk of developing such tumours. And he's adamant he'll be proven correct down the road. Dr. Khurana is calling on the mobile phone industry to take action now before it's too late.
While he's aware his warning won't make cell phones extinct - and he believes they are useful, especially in emergencies - he'd like to see more hand's free technology that keeps the devices away from the head, and shielding used to prevent the radiation's harmful effects. Or you can just use a more traditional landline phone more often.
One industry group dismisses the physician's concerns as being an unbalanced view of a selective group of studies, and claims there is just as much expert research that indicates there are no proven harmful effects from the use of their products.
Read Dr. Khurana's study here.