Encyclopedia of Opinion
Question
Do cell phones cause cancer?
Position1 of 3
Yes, cell phones increase the risk of cancer.
Argument2 of 3

Cancer incidence correlates with cell phone use

The number of cancer cases went up dramatically in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, just as cell phones were becoming widespread.

The argument

There is a correlation between the rising number of cancer cases and the rapid spread of cell phone use. Cell phones first began to become widely available to consumers in the 1990s, growing to over 5 billion cell users by the late 2010s. Over roughly the same time period, from 1990 to 2017, the number of cancer deaths globally increased by 66%. These trends are exactly what would be expected if cell phone use was causing increased cancer risk.

Premises

[P1]Cell phones became widely available in the 1990s and grew to over five billion users by the late 2010s. [P2] Over roughly the same period, from 1990 to 2017, global cancer deaths rose by 66%. [P3] This correlation is exactly what would be expected if cell phone use were causing increased cancer risk. [C] Therefore, because cancer incidence correlates with cell phone use, cell phones increase the risk of cancer.

Counter-arguments

Correlation does not mean causation. There is no concrete proof that increased cancer rates are caused by radiation emitted by cell phones.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] There's no real proof that cell phone use is responsible for cancer rates.