Public Perceptions of Alleged Health Risks of Mobile Phones and Masts

September 2011

Objectives
Track changes over time

Track attitudes to mobile phone masts

Public awareness and perceptions of the alleged health risks associated with prolonged use of mobile phones

Monitor the effect of media coverage

Test reactions to proposed government and industrial initiatives

Methodology

1,965 face to face interviews

Weighted to be representative of GB adults aged 15+

Interviews conducted 2nd 8th Sep 2011

Context

Economic Optimism Index

Do you think that the general economic condition of the country will improve, stay the same or get worse over the next 12 months?
September 2011
Dont know Get worse 4% 20% Improve Get worse Stay the same

January 2004 September 2011

52% 25% Stay the same Improve

EOI = -32 Base: 1,008 British adults 18+, 10th - 12th September 2011

Source: Reuters/Ipsos MORI Political Monitor

Issues facing Britain: September 2011

What would you say is the most important issue facing Britain today? What do you see as other important issues facing Britain today?
Top mentions % Economy Unemployment Crime/Law and order Race relations/Immigration NHS Education/Schools Inflation/Prices Defence/Foreign Affairs/ Terrorism Morality/Individual behaviour 13 13 11 9 18 16 21 30 29 59 Change since August -2 +4 -2 -2 +1 0 -2 +2 +5 +1 Source: Ipsos MORI Issues Index

Poverty/Inequality
6

Base: 967 British adults 18+, 2nd 8th September 2011

Mobile phone usage has held at 9 in 10

% Usage of Mobile Phone

90 90 87 87 87 88 87 88 83 85 80 81 82

68 57 48

71

76 75 75 75

Younger Higher social grade Higher income

36
22

Working

Base: All GB adults Sep 11: 1,963 (wtd)

Concerns about mobile phone handsets and masts

Unprompted concern around the health risks from mobile phone masts and handsets remains low
Q What, if any, health related dangers concern you most nowadays?
Sep-11 Air pollution Jul-11 Sep-10
13% 12% 12% 11% 12% 10% 10% 8% 9% 7% 6% 8% 6% 5% 5% 3% 3% 3% 2% 1% 5%

24% 21% 19% 24%

Traffic congestion
Greenhouse effect Nuclear waste/disp. Other pollution GM modification/ GM foods

15% 14%

Crop spraying
Health risks of mobile phone handsets Health risks of mobile phone masts Cancer/skin cancer
9

10% 7%

Base: All GB adults Sep 2011: 1,963 (wtd)

Prompted concern around handsets and masts has decreased in line with other concerns
Q And which of the following are you also seriously concerned about?
Sep-11 Nuclear waste/disp. Traffic congestion Air pollution Greenhouse effect GM modification/ GM foods Crop spraying Other pollution
4%
8% 6% 7% 5%

Jul-11

Sep-10
19% 15% 15%
26% 32% 26% 30% 24% 32% 23% 29% 22% 15% 22%

15%
11% 11%
15%

13% 11% 11% 10% 9%

Health risks of mobile phone handsets

Health risks of mobile phone masts Acid rain

4%

7%

Base: All GB adults Sep 2011: 1,963 (wtd)

Prompted concerns about masts and handsets have fallen significantly in the last year
% mentioning handsets/masts as a concern

Prompted 31 27

Unprompted

21

23

25 26

22

24 19

26
22

21
8 3

21 20 11
3 4 14 3

20 15 5 4 14 13 12 13 13 11 3 4 3 4 5 9

7 2 3 2

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd) Results for the August/September 2007 waves have been excluded due to inconsistent data collection methodology

IARC classification has had no appreciable impact EEA press release; on levels of concern MTHR summary
% mentioning handsets/masts as a concern
FEI/operators launch 10 Commitments; Govt published revised planning guidance for England NRPB published MTHR AGNIR report Code of Best established NRPB report Practice published published BBC Panorama on WiFi and health report published UK Govt revised health leaflets; RRT conference

DoH leaflets published Stewart Report published

IARC Interphone; COSMOS starts

%
27
October 1999 Stewart Enquiry began 1996-98 Anti-mast campaigns start in UK

31 21 23 25 26

22

24 19

26 22
21 11 21 20 14 20 15 12 13 13 14 13

IARC classifies radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic

1 2

7 2

3 2

5 5

11

5 4 5 3 4 3 3 4 3 4 9

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd) Results for the August/September 2007 waves have been excluded due to inconsistent data collection methodology

Mobile phones

The proportion who do not believe mobile phones are safe has decreased significantly to 1 in 7
Q I do not believe that mobile phones are safe to use
Male

Disagree

%
39 43 44

47

51 51

48

52 52 44 45

Agree 60 60 58 57 57 57 51 51 51 53

Younger Higher social grade Higher income

24 23 25 21

23 18 17 17

19 17

23

19 17 16 18 14 14 13 16 16 14

Aug- Aug- Sep- Aug- Aug- Apr- Sep- Aug- Aug- Sep- Sep01 02 03 04 05 07 07 08 09 10 11
Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

14

The proportion believing that mobile phones do not pose a health risk has fallen slightly to 2 in 5
Q From the following list of statements, please select the one which most closely matches your viewpoint.
34% do 40% do not
I believe conclusive evidence already exists showing that mobile phones do pose a health risk

Sep-11

8%

27%

32%

7%5%

20%

I believe there is sufficient evidence now to show that using a mobile phone probably poses a health risk I believe there is sufficient evidence now to show that using a mobile phone probably does not pose a health risk

37% do

44% do not

I believe conclusive evidence already exists showing that mobile phones do not pose a health risk

Sep-10

8%

29%

36%

8%5% 13%

None of these

Dont know

Base: All GB adults asked Version 2 questions Sep-11: 971 (wtd)

15

Over half agree the benefits of using a mobile are greater than the risks; disagreement levels are static
Q The benefits of using a mobile phone are greater than any potential health risks

Agree

Disagree

%
57 55 58 51 23 52 53 23 23 57 61 62 60 63 60 59 53 56
Male

22

22

19

20

16

15

17

14

17

16

18

17

Apr-03

Mar-04

Mar-05

Aug-06

Aug-08

Aug-09

Sep-10 Sep-11

16

Base: All GB adult mobile phone users Sep-11: 1,767 (wtd)

The proportion agreeing that health concerns do not affect their mobile phone usage has dropped to 3 in 5
Q Health concerns about mobile phones do not affect how much I use my phone

Agree

Disagree

%
69 65 65 64 66 66 63 62 63 66 65 67 67 67 61
Male Younger

21 20 21 22 23 20 21 18 17 17 17 18 17 17 19

Apr-03 Mar-04 Mar-05 Aug-06 Aug-08 Aug-09 Sep-10 Sep-11

17

Base: All GB adult mobile phone users Sep-11: 1,767 (wtd)

Around a fifth say they worry about health issues related to mobile phones
Q I worry about the health issues related to mobile phones

Sep-11

19%

25%

52%

3%

Jul-11

19%

20%

54%

6%

Sep-10

22%

23%

52%

2%

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

No opinion

18

Base: All GB adults answering version 2 Sep-11: 971 (wtd)

Results indicate that brain tumours and cancer are increasingly cited as reasons to worry about mobile phones
Q Why do you worry about mobile phones? (top 4 mentions)
Sep-11 Jul-11 Sep-10
34%

Brain tumour

28%
29% 31%

Cancer
24% 23%

28%

Radio waves

24%
31% 20%

Headaches

10%
22%

19

Base: All GB adults who worry about mobile phones Sep-11: 180 (wtd)

A quarter view mobile phones as intrusive, but almost 3 in 10 dislike nothing about them
Q What, if anything, do you dislike about mobile phones? (mentions 5% or above Sep-11)
Sep-11 They're intrusive Ringing in public People using them whilst driving People use them unnecessarily People are too dependent Cost of calls Alleged health risks Cost of the phone Children using them Nothing
20

Sep-10
24%
21%

16% 16% 16%

13%

12% 10% 10%

8%

9%
11%

9% 10% 7%
5%

5% 4% 28%
25%

Base: All GB adults Sep 2011: 1,963 (wtd)

Over four fifths deem mobile phones a necessity for modern life
Q Mobile phones seem to be a necessity for modern life

Agree

Disagree 83 78 83 85 85

74

79

78

80

84

80

81

83

16

11

13

11

12

10

Aug-02

Sep-03

Aug-04

Aug-05

Aug-07

Aug-09

Sep-11

21

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Just under half agree that the advantages of a child having a mobile phone outweigh the disadvantages
Q The advantages of a child having a mobile phone outweigh the disadvantages

Agree

Disagree

%
51 26

46 27

49
24

55

53

15-24, 35-54 year olds

48

44 19

46 20

Children in household

20

19

20

Aug-05 Aug-06 Aug-07 Aug-08 Aug-09 Sep-10 Jun-11 Sep-11

22

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

The proportion that do not allow their children to have mobile phones for health reasons is now only 1 in 8
Q I do not allow my child/ren to have a mobile phone because I think mobiles might cause ill health Agree Disagree

%
53 45 22 48 32 16 29 11 30 13

17

14

Aug-07

Aug-08

Aug-09

Sep-10

Jun-11

Sep-11

23

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Masts

Agreement that mobile phone masts are essential for mobile phone networks remains stable
Q I believe mobile phone masts are essential for mobile phone networks to work

Agree

Disagree

%
63 70 71 73 72 72 72 70 70
Male Higher income

7 Apr-07

7 Mar-08

6 Apr-09

6 May-10

6 Sep-11

25

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Around a third feel well informed about mobile phones, masts and health; a similar proportion do not
Q I feel well informed about mobile phones, masts and health

%
39 38 36

Agree

Disagree 41 37 37

38 36

39

39

35
34 32

Aug-07

Aug-08

Apr-09

Aug-09

May-10

Sep-10

Sep-11

26

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Two fifths would prefer not to hear about mobile phones and health as there is conflicting information
Q There is so much conflicting information about alleged health issues related to mobile phones and masts that Id rather not hear it

%
44

Agree

Disagree 40

33

28

Aug-05

Mar-07

Mar-08

Apr-09

May-10

Sep-11

27

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Equal proportions believe that mobile phone masts do and do not pose a health risk; a fifth dont know
Q From the following list of statements, please select the one which most closely matches your viewpoint.
37% do 36% do not
I believe conclusive evidence already exists showing that mobile phone masts do pose a health risk I believe there is sufficient evidence now to show that mobile phone masts probably pose a health risk I believe there is sufficient evidence now to show that mobile phone masts probably do not pose a health risk

Sep-11 7%

30%

30%

7%5%

21%

42% do

36% do not

I believe conclusive evidence already exists showing that mobile phone masts do not pose a health risk None of these

Sep-10

8%

34%

30%

6%6% 16%

Don't know

Base: All GB adults asked Version 1 questions Sep-11: 992 (wtd)

28

Levels of concern related to mobile phone masts remains slightly higher than for handsets
Q I worry about the health issues related to mobile phone masts

Sep-11

22%

25%

50%

2%

Jul-11

20%

25%

46%

8%

Sep-10

27%

23%

48%

1%

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

No opinion

29

Base: All GB adults answering version 1 Sep-11: 992 (wtd)

Cancer and radio waves are the top concerns for those who worry about mobile phone mast health issues
Q Why do you worry about mobile phone masts? (top 4 mentions)
Sep-11 Jul-11 Sep-10
35%

Cancer
29% 30%

39%

Radio waves

30%
28% 24%

Brain tumour

21%
24% 18%

Headaches

16%
17%

30

Base: All GB adults who worry about mobile phone masts Sep-11: 219 (wtd)

Equal proportions would object and be indifferent to a new mast. A fifth would want to know more
Q What would be your reaction if mobile phone operators placed a mast in your neighbourhood?

I would object to this No reaction/indifference I would want more information I wouldn't object if the mast blended in I'd be suspicious I would welcome it for better coverage in the area I would want to move
3% 7% 11% 22%

29%

28%

2%

31

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

These figures have remained very stable over time

Q What would be your reaction if mobile phone operators placed a mast in your neighbourhood?

Object Welcome Wouldn't object if blends in

More info Would move

Suspicious No reaction

NB: new code I wouldnt object if the mast blended in added in September 2011

29 28 22 11 7 3 2 Sep-11

Aug-07

Aug-08

Apr-09

Aug-09

May-10

Sep-10

32

Base: All GB adults (1,963 (wtd) Sep 2011, 1,983 Sep 2010; 2,024 May 2010; 2,018 August 2009; 2,042 April 2009; 1,994 August 2008; 1,994 August 2007)

A quarter are concerned about the design and visual impact of masts
Q I am concerned about the design and visual impact of phone masts
%
Strongly agree
6 24% Agree 18

33

Tend to agree

Neither agree nor disagree

27

Tend to disagree

28 43% Disagree

Strongly disagree

16

Don't know

33

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Dissatisfaction with the planning system has dropped

Q I am satisfied that the planning system effectively controls the siting of masts in my neighbourhood
Agree Disagree

%
33 36 36 38 33 35 34 36 31 30 24 24 26 24 24 25 24 21 20 39 35 39 38

42

41

39

38

Males

27

27

18

15

18

21 16

Aug-01

Aug-02

Sep-03

Aug-04

Aug-05

Aug-07

Apr-08

May-10

Sep-11

34

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Those thinking that the Government should do more to educate about mobile phones has dropped to three fifths
Q The Government should do more to educate the public on mobile phones, masts and health Agree Disagree

%
69 69 66 66 59

13

11

13

13

14

Mar-08

Aug-08

Aug-09

Sep-10

Sep-11

35

Base: All GB adults Sep-11: 1,963 (wtd)

Summary

Summary (1)
Both prompted and unprompted concerns about mobile phone handsets and masts remain at low levels despite recent press coverage Two in five believe that evidence exists showing that mobile phones do not pose a health risk, a third think the contrary Over half say the benefits of using a mobile are greater than the risks and three in five do not let health concerns affect their mobile usage

However, a fifth worry about health issues related to mobile phones, with brain tumours and cancer being the biggest fears
Over four in five see mobiles as a necessity for modern life, although a quarter find them intrusive

The proportion who say they dont allow their children to have a mobile phone due to health concerns continues to decline and now sits at one in eight
A third feel well informed about mobile phones, masts and health. The same proportion disagree and two in five would rather not hear about health issues related to mobile phones and masts due to conflicting information

37

Summary (2)
Opinion of potential risks associated with mobile phone masts is mixed, with equal proportions believing there is and is not enough evidence to show they pose a risk Just over a fifth worry about health issues related to masts, the main concerns being cancer and radio waves The proportion of people who would object to a new mast in their neighbourhood and those who would be indifferent are consistent over time at just under three in ten for both groups A quarter are concerned about the design and visual impact of mobile phone masts More people agree that the planning system effectively controls mast siting than disagree, but three in five still think that the government should do more to educate on phones, masts and health A fifth say the Government has done enough to allay fears about mast siting. A similar proportion say that mobile operators have done enough

38

Thank you