Belgian company aims for suckers by de-cancerfying cell phones

Most medical studies agree that if there's any link between cell phone usage and brain tumors, it's an awfully tenuous one at best -- and certainly one that requires additional research rather than immediate and full-scale panic.

But don't tell that to Belgian company Omega Pharma! It says its new "chip" is designed to "offset the electromagnetic radiation from the phone" and claims it will "lessen symptoms such as headaches and loss of concentration that might be associated with mobile phone use," in addition to "neutralizing the heating effect within the body produced by electromagnetic signals" (and, by extension, eliminating cancer risks). It's true, because its company scientists say so.

For about $50, the chip will let you rest oh-so-easier. How exactly the chip operates in conjunction with your phone is unclear, as it isn't mentioned on the company's website at all. Primarily known as a pharmaceutical company, Omega Pharma is best known as a manufacturer of cosmetics, vitamins, and weight loss products.

Products like this that claim to reduce "cancer waves" are legion -- ranging from inserts you put inside your battery compartment to special cases to stick-on devices that adhere to the case of the phone. Most, if not all, are complete junk, if for no other reason that if you blocked the electromagnetic signals from coming in and out of the phone, the phone simply wouldn't work. Localized radiation blockers -- like pads that you put over the earpiece -- won't do much at all. Electromagnetic waves don't shoot out the speaker along with the audio like a laser beam focused at your brain. The entire phone emits the waves, and blocking them from a penny-sized portion of the handset (if the devices even do that) will do functionally nothing.

That said, to my knowledge no serious study or even cursory analysis has ever been performed on these devices to determine if they work as advertised. Draw your own conclusions... but I highly encourage you to save your 50 bucks.

UPDATE: This morning (Monday, December 15, 2008), the company withdrew the product from sale after it acknowledged that its "scientific proof... was brought into doubt."