"We get dopamine in the brain when we like something a lot. Well, cellphones stimulate dopamine, too. So it really is the case that there are some people who are pretty addicted to these devices."
About Devra Davis
Devra Davis — Life and Legacy
Devra Davis is a prominent epidemiologist and author recognized for her extensive research on the links between environmental toxins and public health. Her notable work, 'Disconnect', critically examines how modern technology and environmental neglect can lead to serious health consequences, urging society to reconsider its relationship with the environment. Davis's core thinking revolves around the idea that environmental factors are crucial to understanding health outcomes. She asserts that neglecting these factors can lead to devastating consequences, as reflected in her statement, 'The greatest danger is not that we will be killed by a bomb, but that we will be killed by a lack of attention.' This highlights her belief that awareness and proactive measures are essential in safeguarding public health. Her insights challenge conventional views, advocating for a more integrated approach to health that considers environmental impacts. Today, her quotes and ideas resonate strongly as they call for urgent action against environmental injustices, emphasizing the need for a collective response to protect vulnerable communities from toxic exposures.
Quote collection
Devra Davis quotes (page 1 of 2)
25 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"In particular, recently Belgium has banned the sale of a cellphone to a 7-year-old. Turkey has banned ads and advertising to children. So has France for children under 12. India has bans in certain areas. In Bangalore, you cannot sell a cellphone to someone younger than 16. So in different parts of the world, they've taken different steps."
"Cellphone and other wireless radiation should be classified as a "probable human carcinogen.""
"The reality is, cellphones have to be used safely. They are today like cars and trucks - we can't live without them, but we certainly wouldn't give a car or truck to a toddler to drive. Why are we thinking it's perfectly okay to give a device that the World Health Organization has said is a "possible human carcinogen" to infants and toddlers, and for that matter, schoolchildren?"
"The whole idea of what is evidence for causation in epidemiology cannot be separated from tTindustry understood that if they could raise doubt about how you could conclude something caused cancer, that they put so much effort into getting so many receptive public health authorities to say, "Well, causation requires that these five things be met." So that is, in fact, nonsense."
"If you are a physician and someone comes to see you with an absolutely incapacitating headache or a swollen arm, you don't tell them, "Come back in 10 years when I've completed my study and I'll see what I can do for you.""
"The question is, do you want to play Russian roulette with your brain?"
"We know that drugs, sex and rock and roll stimulates something called dopamine in the brain. So do videogames. Dopamine is something that we crave."
"Where people are using phones in rural areas their risk of brain cancer is higher than in urban areas."
"When the signal is weak, the phone is working more, you drain the battery faster, so only use a phone when the signal is weak in a true emergency."
"Cancer can take a long time to develop and necessarily has multiple causes."
"There is apparently an epidemic of tinnitus in younger people. Tinnitus is ringing in the ears and it can be disabling. Tinnitus is associated with cellphone use."
"The reality is, the way we've used phones and the amount that we've used phones has changed radically in the past five years. When phones were first marketed in the 1990s, it cost, for car phones, $3000 to buy a phone and the average person did not use it that much. They were very, very expensive."
"Brain cancer has a latency in the population of 40 years."
"Say no to being on-call 24/7 unless you are an emergency responder. Use a speakerphone, use a headset."
"Radar, of course, is what cellphone radiation is exactly like. It can be a similar frequency, it's just much weaker power."
"The younger a cell, the faster it grows, the more vulnerable it is to damage."
"It's true that non-ionizing radiation lacks the power to have damage. But its damage seems to come from its modulated signal. So every 900 milliseconds, if you have a cellphone in your pocket, it's getting half of that radiation which is getting into you as it seeks the signal from the tower."
"I don't know that cell phones are dangerous. But I don't know that they are safe."
"Just a little bit of exposure to this pulsed digital signal, which is now a cellphone signal, could weaken membranes of the brain."