The habit of drinking hot beverages might be linked to oesophageal cancer, according to a report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. For more than 20 other cancers, the evidence was inconclusive. “However, the experts did find that drinking very hot beverages probably causes cancer of the oesophagus in humans”.
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The report cited countries including China, Iran and those of South America and Middle East – where bitter infusions of tea are served at temperatures way above the 70 degree Celsius and are much hotter than ones served in Western cafes – are at particular risk.
With further evidence, the IARC determined this not to be true, but it is instead the particularly high temperature of the drink that may cause cancer of the gullet.
Earlier, IARC has placed coffee as a possible carcinogen in its 2B category along chloroform, lead and among other substances. In its latest evaluation, the agency said that some studies showed coffee drinkers had a lower risk for cancers of the liver and womb.
Researchers first proposed the idea in 2009, when the Daily Telegraph reported a study of nearly 900 Australians that had found a link between throat cancer and very hot tea.
Evidence points to drinking hot beverages at temperatures above 65°C as having the potential of causing cancer of the gullet. However, the agency did add that all “very hot beverages” are probably carcinogenic.
For purposes of the study, “very hot” refers to any beverages consumed at a temperature above 65 °C. Besides, most people in the United Kingdom drink tea with milk, which lowers the temperature of the drink to a safe level.
Wild said the working group found no conclusive evidence of a carcinogenic effect from drinking coffee. Some experiments have been carried out on rats and mice that have found very hot liquids, including water, to promote the development of tumors.
The good news is that coffee itself does not pose a cancer risk.
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Worldwide, esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer, causing about 400,000 deaths in 2012. But as an avid coffee drinker, he is relieved to see that coffee is off the list of carcinogenic. The WHO found that smokers tended to drink more coffee.
