warning labels
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San Francisco considers displaying phone radiation levels next to price tag
If the San Francisco Department of the Environment gets its way, starting as soon as next month Bay Area residents might start noticing the radiation levels of cellphones displayed prominently next to their respective price at retail outlets. This is, of course, despite no definitive research that the handsets cause harm and the FCC's insistence that the devices sold to consumers are safe. The proposal is being endorsed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who as it's noted is not about to stop using his iPhone anytime soon. Not to worry, Maine, you'll still keep the top spot for most ridiculous cellphone warning label.
Maine mulling cancer warning labels on cellphones, manufacturers mulling warning label on Maine
The debate on whether mobile phones are slowly turning us into a world of ailment-riddled weaklings rages on in the scientific community, but at least one state may be ready to step up the ominous, non-actionable warnings anyway. A representative in Maine has apparently persuaded her colleagues to let her bring up a proposal during January's session of the state legislature that would require warnings on devices about the alleged link between RF emissions and brain cancer, strongly advising users to keep the devices away from their heads and bodies. At best, this seems premature, and at worst, it runs a risk of breeding a nation of 24 / 7 Bluetooth headset users -- but the politician responsible for the movement seems to have it figured out: she holds her own phone away from her head while using it and turns it off unless she's expecting a call. Could someone in her district please let us know what kind of archaic voice-only device she's using?
UK charity wants hearing loss warnings on DAPs
Even though it may seem rather obvious that listening to loud music (whether through headphones or speakers) has the potential to cause hearing damage, apparently 58% of 16 to 30-year-old Brits are blissfully unaware of this fact, so a UK-based charitable organization is now calling on DAP manufacturers to affix more prominent warning labels to their products. The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) has apparently contacted all of the leading makers of MP3 players with a plea to include cigarette-type notification on all of their packaging, citing music lovers like 27-year-old "Cath" who claimed, "I was shocked when I found out that by listening to my MP3 player too loudly I could do serious damage to my hearing. If I saw a warning on the box I'd definitely take it more seriously." RNID has even set up a website called Don't Lose the Music where folks like the gentleman who sued Apple can find supposedly unbiased statistics and facts about hearing loss, along with tips -- such as turning the volume down -- that will reduce your chances of going partially or fully deaf. We're most interested in finding out how our readers feel about this issue; i.e. how far do companies need to go in order to convey the dangers of their products -- for instance, do knife manufacturers need to tell us in big bold letters that we risk cutting ourselves, or should the makers of sunglasses warn us not to stare directly into the sun?[Via ArsTechnica]
