It follows a report published in 2000 by the UK Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones and Health. The Chairman of both reports was Sir William Stewart.
The main conclusion of the new publication is that there is no hard evidence at present that the health of the public, in general, is being affected adversely by the use of mobile phone technologies; but uncertainties remain and a continued precautionary approach to their use is recommended until the situation is further clarified.
Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, Sir William warned that children under eight should not be allowed to use mobile phones on a regular basis, a warning reiterated later in the programme by Health Minister Rosie Winterton.
"If there are risks – and we think that maybe there are – then the people who are going to be most affected are children, and the younger the children, the greater the danger," explained Sir William. "Parents have a responsibility to their children not simply to throw a mobile phone to a young child, and say 'off you go'."
In general, the report recommends that:
In addition the Board places high importance on accumulating knowledge of exposure levels and possible biological effects of TETRA based technology (Terrestrial Trunked Radio – a common standard for radio based mobile communications used by the police and other public safety agencies).
The report also supports the intention of government to increase the penalty for the offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving by making it endorsable with three penalty points and an increased fine of £60.
"Today there are over 50 million mobile phones in use in the UK compared with 4.5 million a decade ago and numbers in use have doubled since 2000," said Sir William. "The fact is that the use of mobile phones is now part of everyday life as an important means of easy communication by industry, security services, and the general public – and sometimes even as a fashion accessory. But because everyone has one does not necessarily mean that they are without potential adverse health effects".
The report was welcomed by the Mobile Operators Association, the trade group that represents UK mobile network operators on radio frequency health and planning issues.
"The key point of the NRPB advice is that there is no hard information linking the use of mobile telephony with adverse health effects," said Mike Dolan, Executive Director of the MOA, who confirmed that the operators would carefully study the recommendations in the report.
"This advice is consistent with the reassuring conclusion reached a year ago by the NRPB's Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) when it found that the weight of scientific evidence available does not suggest that mobile technologies operating within international health and safety guidelines cause illness," he added.