asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to carry out further research into whether or not the use of mobile phones causes brain tumours. [HL2940]

The ongoing Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme is jointly funded by government and industry. This programme is managed by an independent committee which selects and monitors the research. MTHR published its first report in September 2007. The report can be found on the MTHR website at www.mthr.org.uk/.

MTHR studies found no epidemiological association between short-term mobile telephone use (less than 10 years) and cancers of the brain and nervous system. The report noted that the situation for longer exposure times is less clear and recommended work to assess whether exposure to mobile telephone radiofrequencies in the longer term increases the risk of developing brain and nervous system tumours. A cohort study to investigate a wide range of potential effects including brain cancer is under way at Imperial College, London.