There is a 400 per cent increase in the risk of brain cancer among teenagers due to excessive use of smart phones, says Professor Girish Kumar of the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.

Speaking at the Aligarh Muslim University here on 'Radiation Hazards of Cell Phones', the scientist urged the smart phone users not to take lightly the latest warnings pertaining to "hidden dangers" of technology, which stem from indiscriminate use of such devices. He also categorically warned people from using smart phones for more than 30 minutes a day. Prof Girish Kumar from the Electrical Engineering Department of IIT Mumbai had recently submitted a report to the central government on the serious health hazards of excessive use of latest technology.

He pointed out that the release of free radicals into the human body due to excessive use of cell phones was also causing irreversible damage to male fertility. The scientist stressed that children, in particular, were suffering grave threats to their health as "a child's skull is thinner and easily penetrated by radiation". Cell phone radiations are also causing serious effects on animal and plant life, he said.

Talking about the adverse impact of indiscriminate use of latest technology on youngsters, Prof Kumar said there was a 400 per cent increase in the risk of brain cancer among teenagers due to excessive use of smart phones. "Such radiation is causing irreversible damage to the human DNA, especially of youngsters. It is also responsible for a steep increase in sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer and Parkinson's disease," he said. The IIT professor added that one cannot wish away the latest technological developments, but it would be a fatal error if the society was not made aware of the serious health hazards, emanating from unbridled use of technology.