With 95 percent of Americans using cellphones on a regular basis, California officials have released information about the harmful effects of their use and guidelines for avoiding harmful radiation they can emit, CBS SFBayArea reported Thursday.

The California Department of Public Health offered a set of guidelines to avoid harmful cellphone radiation.

"We recognize that there are a lot of people in the general public that have some concerns about their cellphones and whether using a cellphone is safe," said Dr. Karen Smith with the California Department of Public Health.

"When you sleep, you keep the cellphone at least arm's length away from your body. And also, not carrying your cellphone in your pocket, having it either in your purse or not carrying it with you," she advised.

Research suggests cell phone use could lead to problems including brain cancer and tumors, low sperm count, headaches, as well as impaired memory, hearing, and sleep.

"People are being injured and harmed by the delay in having this information accessible to them," said Dr. Joel Moskowitz of UC Berkeley. "Currently we're not doing a good job in regulating radiation from these devices. In fact, we're doing an abysmal job."

Moskowitz is partially responsible for bringing this information to light. This past spring he won a case filed in 2009, suing the state's Department of Public Health for refusing to release information about the dangers of cellphone radiation.

However, Smith advised cellphones were not dangerous, but explained "the science is evolving" about their use.

• Report: Cell Phones Cause Cancer
• How Dangerous is Your Cell Phone?