Believe it or not, there was actually a time before smartphones existed, when most people only had access to cell phones supported by communication providers. Even then, however, people were worried about the potential consequences to their health caused by the radiation from having your ear to the phone for extended periods of time. It looks like some of these worries can be eased for now at least, as a federal judge recently revealed that certain verbiage being used to notify San Franciscans about the radiation levels is a little exaggerated.

Known not only for its trolleys and perfect weather, the California city is the first in the state to mandate that wireless companies including AT&T and Verizon (News - Alert) provide warnings to users in regards to radiation that could adversely affect their health. These warnings have caused U.S. District Judge William Alsup to take a stand, claiming that the wording is too strong, Channel Partners Online revealed. Alsup stated that before these warning are published for the masses, they must be altered to display the message that cell phone radiation is only a "possible" carcinogen, instead of one that is "known" or probable," Bloomberg (News - Alert) reported.

Besides being kept in the loop about ongoing studies of radiation caused by cell phone usage, Alsup also wants the warnings to highlight to consumers that all wireless phones in the U.S. have met FCC (News - Alert) safety standards prior to being released on the market.

The judge added that the new law won't go into effect until the changes are made.

There have a long been reports that extended mobile phone usage can lead to cancer and earlier this year a World Health Organization report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that cell phone emissions are a “possible carcinogen.” Don’t throw your phone away just yet though, as several researchers have said the claim "has no valid experimental support."

I guess we will have to wait and see what the actual effect of cell phones have on our health, hopefully by that time it won’t be too late.