Maine could well become the first state in the Union to require cellphone manufacturers to add a cigarette-like warning to cellphone packaging. The idea is to remind people that cellphones may be dangerous, and that you would do well to limit your exposure to them.
Of course, for every study that comes out that says cellphones may be dangerous, there’s another that says they’re not, or, at the very least, that more data is necessary to make any conclusions.
Whether or not the warning message should be added will be brought before the Maine Legislature next month in a session that’s “usually reserved for emergency and governors’ bills.”
The proposed warnings would advise people, especially children and pregnant women, to limit their exposure to cellphones.
For its part, the CTIA, which is the mobile industry’s public face, says that it always bases its policies on hard science. To date, there has been no definitive “eureka!” study. Of course, that ignores the numerous studies that say, “you know, there’s some evidence here that says we should limit exposure.”
Besides, why make sure a big deal about a warning sticker? What’s so bad about limiting your exposure to cellphones?