Indian-born American cancer specialist Siddhartha Mukherjee, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, in 2010 has trashed the theory that the electromagnetic field (EMF) produced by mobile phones can cause cancer. He says there is no scientific evidence for this.

"Mukherjee, in Delhi to receive the Padma Shri award, said the World Health Organization (WHO) should remove mobile phone EMF from its list of possible carcinogens (causes of cancer).

“If mobile phones were to cause brain cancer, as has been suggested, the incidence of the disease should have gone up several times with increase in their usage over the past two decades.

This has not happened. On the other hand, data shows increased use of tobacco--a scientifically proven carcinogen--has led to a sharp increase in the incidence of cancers of mouth and lung, among others,“ he said.

In 2011, WHO had classified radiation from mobile phones as a possible cancer risk, based on the opinion of an expert group from its International Agency for Research on Cancer. After an inter-ministerial committee appointed by the government of India also pointed to possible health risks posed by mobile phones and towers, it was decided to lower the level of radiation emitted by cellphone towers to a tenth of the prevailing standard--from 9.2 to 0.92 watts per square metre. The industry had opposed the idea. Mukherjee said identifying possible carcinogens is like a crime investigation and all evidence has to be pieced together to reach a conclusion.