European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 04, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes . Thursday february .4,1993 r some caffeine found not to Hurt fetus Chicago a pregnant women can have a few cups of Coffee a Day with out fear of causing a miscarriage or stunt ing the growth of the fetus researchers say. A study of 431 expectant mothers found that those who consumed up to 300 milligrams of caffeine daily about three cups of Coffee seven cups of Tea or eight cans of cola had no higher rates of miscarriage or Small fetuses than those who used no caffeine. Earlier studies that linked caffeine to birth defects miscarriages and fetal More study on phones cancer urged Washington a More re search needs to be done on the possibility of a link Between cellular phones and cancer but there s no cause Tor alarm in the meantime experts told a congressional panel tuesday. There is virtually no likelihood that radio Waves from cellular phones cause cancer though some studies indicate they May accelerate existing cancer growth said or. Mays Sycord of the food and drug administration. He and others who spoke to the House Energy and Commerce telecommunications subcommittee said no research focuses specifically on the relationship be tween cellular phones on the Market and cancer in humans. There is no cause for general alarm Sycord said. But he said the scientific data base on the effects of microwaves is so Small it begs for further  government and Industry View any de vice that uses less than 0.7 Watts of Power As Safe and cellular phones operate on Only 0.63 Watts said or. Thomas Stanley of the Federal communications commis Sion. But he said the acc relies on manufacturer information about the phones and docs not routinely Check them. The phones that have raised Public concern Are the free standing hand held devices with antennae close to a user s head. David Reynard of St. Petersburg fla., has charged in a lawsuit against Nec America and get Mobil net of Tampa fla., that his wife died of a brain tumor that developed near the spot where her phone Antenna was located during a Typ ical use. Car phones with antennae mounted outside the Auto carry no risk the experts said. Neither do the common cordless phones that rest in a base wired into residential phone lines. Reynard said that his wife used her cellular phone frequently for extended periods. Shorter exposure is always better said or. David Kief Man of the Environ mental Protection Agency we say peo ple Don t need to stay two hours on a cel Lular  growth retardation had various faults including failure to account for the effects of smoking said or. James l. Mills the Lead researcher. This is Good news for women. They Don t have to be too anxious about con suming reasonable amounts of caffeine during pregnancy Mills said. For higher consumption we did t see any prob lems but we did t have enough people to assume they Aren t  Mills is chief of paediatric epidemiology at the National Institute of child health and human development. The study was published in wednesday s Issue of the journal of the american medical association. The research addresses the last of three major questions about the effects of caffeine during pregnancy. The first v whether caffeine increases birth defects has been ruled out by recent studies the authors said. The new study enrolled women at the beginning of their pregnancies and re searchers adjusted for the effects of smoking. Or. David a. Nagey director of mater Nal fetal Medicine at the University of Maryland said the study is important confirmation of what Many doctors had recently come to believe. Many have Al ready been telling women that moderate caffeine consumption is of during preg Nancy he said tuesday. Mills said he had no personal desire to exonerate caffeine. We have no ties with cola companies Coffee companies or Tea companies he said. This was funded 100 percent by the National Institute of child health and human   vex a. \. A \ a 5 r s in so out in the cold a woman looks Over her shoulder at a homeless Man sleeping continued for a second Day but were expected to Rise above on a Philadelphia Street Early tuesday. Numbing temperatures freezing wednesday. See Page 13 for More on the weather. Governor defends use of state plane Montgomery Ala. A gov. Guy Hunt under indictment on theft and ethics charges defended his decision to Jet off in a state plane after a preaching visit to a Mississippi Church where Mem Bers donated to his defense fund. Hunt who is under investigation by a grand jury for using state planes for moneymaking preaching trips said he has nothing to do with the fund set up by supporters to help him fight charges unrelated to his use of the aircraft. And Hunt spokesman Terry Abbot said the governor did not personally take any of the Money collected. Hunt a primitive Baptist preacher Anda Republican promised 17 months ago to Stop using state vehicles for preaching trips except in critical cases. Attorney general Jimmy Evans who convened the grand jury that has been investigating the governor would not com ment on Hunt s latest trip. Hunt confirmed tuesday that he took the flight sunday after preaching on three consecutive Days at Union primitive Baptist Church near Ruth miss. From there he went straight to Washington for the National governors association meeting. Abbott said the governor took his own car to the preaching engagement accompanied by state Security guards. Billions could be pared from medical costs study says Washington a americans could save $36 billion in medical Bills Over five years by limiting malpractice awards and curbing defensive medi Cine health and business groups said tuesday. The groups questioned such practices As electronic fetal monitoring during Rou Tine deliveries and giving Skull a rays to everyone treated in the Hospital Emer gency room for a head injury. Defensive Medicine docs not Benefit the patient and is provided solely to avoid malpractice claims said or. Rob Ert j. Rubin president of Lewin vol inc., a research firm. The coalition including the american medical association the american hos Pital association and 60 other health and business groups is pushing for restrictions on malpractice lawsuits and is seeking ways to compensate patients for medical injuries without going to trial. The report quoted earlier studies on the costs of defensive Medicine including a 1987 report that concluded 53 percent of the 2.4 million Skull emergency a rays ordered annually were unnecessary. Other reforms suggested include limits on noneconomic damages for malpractice restrictions on attorneys fees and promoting settlements through alternative dispute mediation the report said. Rubin acknowledged that fear of Law suits is not the Only Factor that encourages physicians to order too Many tests. Patients often demand aggressive treat ment and providers sometimes have a financial stake in ordering More proce dures he said. Eliminating 60 percent of defensive Medicine costs would save $36 billion Over five years the study said. Eliminating 25 percent would save $15 billion. A no fault compensation system for medical injuries that eliminated 85 per cent of defensive Medicine costs could save $51 billion Over five years