A recent study has linked birth control pills and brain cancer. Obviously, this study is not going to damn birth control use. But it’s something all women should know about.

The study was released in late January 2015 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. The study found that women “who take the pill were twice as likely to develop a rare type of brain cancer called glioma.”

Young women between the ages of 15 and 49 were the subjects of the study. The following is the meaty part of the story:

“They then looked into how many of these women had an Rx for birth control pills, recording the type they took (either the estrogen-progestin ‘combo pill’ or the progestin-only ‘minipill’) and for how long. Finally, they compared them to a control group of glioma-free women in the same age range.

The results showed a 50 percent higher risk of glioma in women who took any pill type for any length of time. Scarily, the risk doubled among women who took progestin-only pills for at least five years.”

While on the surface that doesn’t sound too awesome, it shouldn’t concern women quite yet. More than a few doctors, including Alyssa Dweck, M.D., ob-gyn in Westchester, New York, are saying the study does show correlation, but it doesn’t show causation.

According to Women’s Health Magazine, the following are some of the things to keep in mind about the study’s results:

– “The rates may have been higher in Pill takers because women on oral contraceptives might be more likely to visit their doctor.”

– BMI may have played a role: Doctors often prescribe overweight women progestin-only pills, as they have fewer side effects, “such as blood clots.”

– Glioma is still extremely rare: around five in 100,000 women get it. If the rate is doubled, that means only 10 in 100,000 women will get it.

What do you think about this study? Do the results make you want to toss your pills?

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Cell phones have been worrisome for quite some time now because of fears that they cause brain cancer. As a result, Berkeley is attempting to be the first city in the nation to require cell phone packaging carry a warning label. Are cell phones and cancer a real risk?

“Cell phones are a risk, and I believe the public has a right to information that’s credible, readable and understandable about the device they’re using,” said Berkeley City Councilman Max Anderson, who’s co-sponsoring the ordinance and has a background in public health. “I’m not intimidated by the cell phone industry. The legal department might be, but I’m not.”

San Francisco tried without success to pass a similar ordinance back in 2010 warning about the risks between cell phones and cancer. Wary of the failure, Berkeley hired a First Amendment specialty attorney to ensure that the stickers abide by the necessary guidelines. Even still, the telecommunication industry will most certainly be mounting an aggressive legal fight. The cell phone industry has already responded by sending a four page letter to city council outlining how the regulation violates federal regulations.

“Any attempt to place labels on cell phones or their packaging contradicts the clear message of federal regulatory agencies that have carefully considered this issue, which is that devices compliant with the federal standards are safe for consumer use,” wrote Gerald Keegan, senior director of legislative affairs for CTIA – The Wireless Association, an industry group, reported on SFGate.

The ordinance would require that cell phone manufacturers carry a label warning that cell phones emit cancer causing radiation.

Joel Moskowitz, head of UC Berkeley’s Center for Family and Community Health says that cell phones are an emerging public health threat and that the research is quite definitive. Cell phone radiation penetrates the skin and skull, damaging brain tissue. It also reduces sperm counts in men that carry them in their pockets. Though other experts contend that there’s uncertainty surrounding much of the research.

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