WHO considers that hot drinks are sources of cancer.

According to British newspaper The Independent, a structural unit of the World Health Organization (the WHO) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (the IARC) have recognized that very hot drinks and liquids (e.g., tea, coffee) are dangerous for human health.

Liquids with a temperature exceeding 65 °C could be a probable cause of cancer of esophagus. Experts clarify: in particular only liquid temperature, not its form or content, is the cause of increased risk of fatal disease.

The results of the study, that was carried out in China, Iran, Turkey and the countries of South America, where tea or Paraguay tea is traditionally drunk very hot (about 70 °C), showed that the risk of malignant tumors of the esophagus is increased due to the temperature of liquids.

The experts' conclusions are based on a mathematical analysis of more than a thousand scientific studies about the possible carcinogenic properties of coffee and Paraguay tea. This analysis considered the risk factors associated with the alcohol consumption and smoking.

It should be noted that coffee and Paraguay tea were classified by WHO as "probable human carcinogens" in 1991, and now this group includes all hot drinks with a temperature exceeding 65 °C.

Source: Eurolab