70% of respondents consider electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones to be hazardous to health.

MOSCOW, June 16, 2010. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of the study devoted to the awareness of Russians about the effect of electromagnetic radiation on human health, as well as their attitude towards using cell phones. 

Almost one-quarter of Russians do not know what electromagnetic radiation is: 18% heard about it but do not know what it is; 8% have never heard these words. Only 31% reported they heard something about that. Other 30% are aware of radiation in general and 9% have the clear vision of what electromagnetic radiation is. According to the study, those who are most aware of the electromagnetic radiation are men and Russians with high level of education. The highest level of awareness is reported by respondents holding higher education diplomas and working in production sector (42% versus 20%). The main source of information about electromagnetic radiation studies for 80% of respondents is TV programs; and only 12% of respondents are interested to get information about the results of these studies.

Most of respondents think that electromagnetic radiation emitted by a mobile phone has negative effects on human health (70%). Other 13% think it has no effects; and 4% report positive effects. However, the share of those who are undecided is higher among elderly respondents and those with low level of education, compared to other groups of respondents (25% of respondents aged 60 and above, and 30% of Russians with primary education).

The biggest threat to human health is cell phone proximity to vital organs (72%), using high-radiation cell phones (71%) and using cell phones by children (70%).

Ranking what is most important for Russians when choosing mobile phones, security is rated sixth (5.12 points, maximum -1). Price is put on the first place (3.57 points), followed by reliability on the second place (3.7 points), and technical characteristics on the third (4.13 points). This is followed by functionality (4.41 points) and manufacturer/brand (4.57 points).

Almost two-thirds of respondents (59%) do not know which cellular standard their operator support. Thirty percent of Russians mentioned GSM standard and 1% - CDMA. Every tenth said he/she did not have a cellular phone at all.

The statement "This is the most up-to-date cellular standard»" mostly refer to CDMA (19% of respondents who mentioned this standard). As to the statements such as "CDMA-standard phone has less radiation", "this is eco-friendly communication" and "this standard makes less harm to health", none of the standards were labeled with any of these statements, or respondents remained undecided.

Most of respondents believe that cellular operators should take safety measures (79% respondents). Only 9% think the operator is not necessary to guarantee safety services, equipment and technologies.

The initiative Russian opinion polls were conducted on May 22-23, 2010. 1600 respondents were interviewed at 140 sampling points in 42 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4 %.

Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or www.wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!