San Francisco abandons bid for mobile phones warning stickers 2013

Ever since cell phones first started making their way into the hands of consumers, there have been recurring fears that the radiation from our mobile devices could have adverse effects on our health. Studies on the topic haven't found evidence strong enough to support the fear, but people tend to think that it's better to be safe than sorry. That seemed to be the idea behind a push by San Francisco lawmakers to get retailers to warn customers of the risks, but that effort has been abandoned. 

San Francisco city leaders were attempting to pass an ordinance that would force cell phone retailers to warn customers about the potentially dangerous radiation from cell phones. But, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) had filed a lawsuit to get a permanent injunction on the ordinance, because it believes the warnings to be misleading. Yesterday, the San Francisco city Board of Directors voted to settle the suit and accept the injunction.

So far, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently classified radio frequency fields as "possibly carcinogenic to humans", although it has also said that the evidence is limited right now. The American Cancer Society has said that there could be some risk, but that there isn't enough evidence to prove a causal relationship. The FCC has also deemed cell phones sold in the US as safe, but is considering a reassessment of the acceptable radiation exposure levels that the commission adopted in 1996. 

Other cities around the country had been watching the case closely in hopes they could follow San Francisco's lead, but it looks like we still need more proof before anything can go forward.

source: Reuters