The cell phone is not a toy – Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla
In her life, my friend Juhi captures chances like a child gathering sand and making a dream sand castle.She won a scholarship at Bombay University but, one day, a friend filled a form for a beauty contest.
The Miss India 1984 title was hers, the best costume at Miss Universe.A chance meeting with Director Mukul Anand who offered her a debut in the film SultanatThe movie did not do well but Juhi shone.
Who can forget her smile in QSQT?
With Aamir Khan, she became the spectacular star of the 1980sA small ugly duckling in the film Aiana, Juhi ban gayi regal, a beautiful swan. She was a runaway, a lovable girl or an imp. She was fabulous in each of her diverse roles.Yeh Khiladi, Yeh Deewaani Mastaani, Chalte Chalte, Juhi started a company with SRK for the first time
Filmistan became Companistan because Juhi reinvents herself With beautiful period pieces, bi-lingual films with a conscience like My Brother Nikhil. Her awards, if I list, would take all day.But so enough said on her public face, her own spirituality is a powerful force.
Her courage to take up on popular social issues, not just activism that stops everything but activism that constructs that builds, that builds trust.She brought awareness on issues of radiation for the safety of friends and family.
I thank you I was one of the beneficiaries. A natural beauty, she does not need artifice because she is beautiful inside. A friend, a mother, a wife who is trusted, a true giver, honest and gentle. When she smiles, ladies and gentlemen, fellow Rotarians, when she smiles, it is as if the sun comes out.
I present my friend Juhi Chawla – Dr. Swati PiramalGood afternoon, friends. Swatiji, thank you for such a glorious introduction. You always surprise me with your poetry whereas you had told me that you are a scientist.
I am not here to show you how smart I am. I am not against any cellular phone company and I am not here to tell you to throw away those phones. I am here only to draw attention to certain aspects of radiation which we may be overlooking. Electromagnetic field radiation — EMFR — can damage health and your cell phone is not a toy. The World Health Organisation had initially said that there is no substantial proof that EMFR can damage health. However, in 2011, it changed its stand and now says: “Possibly carcinogenic, Class 2B”.
The cell phone is a fantastic piece of technology. You dial a few numbers and it shoots off radio wave beams to an antenna. The antenna then shoots off another radio wave beam to a switching centre, which authenticates the call with ‘call from so-and-so number and looking for so-and-so number’. It then shoots off one more radio wave beam to another antenna that is closest to the receiver’s cell phone.
Have you ever thought how dialling a few buttons can connect you to a friend in Australia? You talk in real time and there is not even a wire! If you were to fly to Australia, it would take you two days, whereas your friend takes your call in four seconds. Now, think of the speed and the strength of that radio wave. Radio waves are just waves in the air and man has figured out how to use them.
Technology powered by electricity can generate a wave. Now these waves can be both gentle as well as of high frequency. Radio waves that are used for cell phones are closest in range to microwaves that heat food without fire. How does this happen?
Microwave oven technology is powered by electricity and in that box radio waves are generated that make the molecules of food vibrate faster and thereby create heat energy. When you warm your food, you will find the curry heating up faster than the container. This is because molecules of liquid vibrate faster. Again, what would happen to the food if you put it in the microwave oven for ten minutes or an hour and not just one or two?
Let us explore the antenna of the cell phone. You must have seen them mushrooming on buildings, in slums and even along highways. The white part of the antenna has electricity running through it and emits maximum radiation. These antennae are on 24×7 and during peak hours, in order to manage traffic, cellular companies increase the power output to these antennae so that they radiate more. What then happens to people who are living in close proximity to these mobile phone towers?!
A cell phone is powered by battery and every 60 seconds sends out a radio wave beam to the closest antenna to say, “I am here”. The antenna knows where to find this number if it needs to. When we were checking these radio waves, we realised that phones with WiFi radiate even more because they are constantly downloading data.
Have you ever noticed how your ears grow warm after a long call? It is the same microwave effect. Your ears, soft tissues, earlobes, blood vessels, fine nerves going to the brain and the liquid which balances you are being cooked. When we give them rest, they bounce back. But, what about the day when your ears refuse to repair because they have been abused too long?
The BlackBerry manual says: Hold the BlackBerry 15 mm or 0.5 inches away from your ears. How many of us do that? The International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection, the guidelines to which we all pay attention to, advises: “Six minutes per day for cell phone use!”
When children play games on iPads it should be put on airplane mode. We have lived our lives; what about our children and grandchildren who will grow up in a world surrounded by radiation?
A hundred years ago, there were a few, the elite, who could afford cigars. Several years down the line, companies started making cigarettes more affordable for the masses and people began to smoke. It became a fashion statement and business grew by leaps and bounds. Every hoarding one saw had a cigarette packet. Around that time, maybe one little voice said: “Something is not right about this.” As years went by, however, the voices started to grow and approximately 10 years ago, the government had to ban smoking in public places.
Twenty years ago, only a few people used cell phones. Today, in a gathering of 100, we would have 150 phones. The cell phone is a fantastic piece of technology, but it must be used with care. It must be used with restraint and to your advantage. Do not let the cell phone consume you. Just remember EMFR can damage health and your cell phone is not a toy.
Many of us make calls sitting in the car because that is the time when we are free. The car is the microwave oven and you are the food. Radiation and radio waves from phones bounce back at you and intensify radiation. Also, cell phones should not be kept by your bedside as an alarm clock. There is constant radiation. Last but not the least, do not keep your WiFi routers in your bedrooms.
Excerpts from a Q&A session
Q: I have friends who stayed in Usha Kiran and three of them got tumours. Does any study say that cell phones or towers cause tumours? Some cell phones have stickers that say it reduces radiation. Is that effective?
Juhi Chawla: Radiation cannot be seen, tasted or heard and this is the grey area. Damage can be caused by proximity to radio waves. It is a simple science. But, since this is a new technology and business has boomed around it, research has fallen behind. Forewarned, however, is forearmed and that is why we are asking you to be at least aware and cut out unnecessary calls.
I have such a chip/sticker on my phone. I was told that radio waves exist at random in nature while what we create with technology and electricity are systemic and interfere with the waves. You have waves because you have cells vibrating in your body. This chip from Environics has rare earth elements that convert systemic rays that come into the phone into random waves and thereby reduces radiation.
Q: What about radiation from TV tower antennas?
Juhi Chawla: Fortunately the TV set-top box and antennas remain at a distance. Radiation decreases as distance increases.
Q: There are advertisements that say that one can now watch movies on cell phones. What is going to happen to the entertainment industry if these cell phones are banned? Has any research been done on movies on the phone?
Juhi Chawla: One would be watching movies on a phone from a distance. I am not a scientist but this is what good sense tells me now. It is a new technology and we have to see the effects. I only hope we do not have to wait too long and have to suffer before we are able to convince authorities to do something about the ill-effects, if there would be any.
Q: A lot of work has been done on electromagnetic radiation and its effects on human beings. However, cell phones have been around for 15-20 years and a lot of the effects of electromagnetic radiation can be seen over a period of 30-40 years and longer.
So, we should not have cell phones near schools and not restrict the usage of cell phones. Children mostly use it to play games and that is something that parents can stop.
Dr. Swati Piramal: Public health never knew about the ill effects of cigars or cigarettes. It took a long time before it could be proven as cancerous.
I measured radiation in my offices, which happen to be opposite Vodafone and Airtel towers and 15 antennas in a slum. I was amazed at the level of radiation and decided to shield all employees who were sitting in the offices and every plant and every place where we have offices.
It is a big problem; only, we have not measured it. We can also do simple things such as using headphones and not letting a child play games on a cell phone.
Why is it a problem in Bombay and not in the US or UK? We are densely-populated and the number of cell phones in our country is more than in the UK or US. I think it is our responsibility to shield our family and our children, particularly because we do not know its long-term effects.
Q: We have a tower in our building and had a radiation survey done once. We were given a certificate stating that radiation was well within range. How authentic was that survey? Is there any way we can at least protect our flat from that kind of radiation?
Juhi Chawla: You have raised a concern that multiple people have. You need to pursue this matter with the government authorities.
Prakash Munshi: Juhi and I have been working together since 2010, knocking at the doors of the government. A policy had been finalised by the BMC but after cellular operators approached the state government, it is the latter that will formulate a policy, incorporating Government of India guidelines announced on August 1, 2013. We have done follow-ups with the state government and are now waiting for a reply.