It took years of public pressure and a lawsuit, but the California Department of Public Health has finally released a set of guidelines for the public about the risks associated with cell phone use and the best ways for cell phone users to reduce their exposure to potential dangers. What on earth took so long? We asked the department for an answer to this question. It didn't offer us a direct response but wrote, "[This] project was discontinued when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued national guidance on the same subject." However, the state's document, dated April 2014 and stamped "draft and not for public release" ... paints a very clear picture of the potential dangers of cell phone use. "Health officials are concerned about possible health effects from cell phone EMFs (electromagnetic fields) because some recent studies suggest that long-term cell phone use may increase the risk of brain cancer and other health problems," the guidelines read. The two-page document goes on to suggest ways to lower your exposure, including using speaker phone and headsets, keeping the phone away from your body when it's not being used, and sending text messages instead of voice calls. California's public health department released the document only after a judge said she would order the guidelines to be disclosed. Joel Moskowitz, a public health researcher at UC Berkeley, sued the department last year after repeatedly requesting them.