Drinking Very Hot Tea Can Cause Oesophageal Cancer

A new study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, points to a link between drinking extra hot tea and the risk of developing oesophageal cancer. Researchers followed 50,045 people, aged between 40 and 75 years, for an average of 10.1 years in Golestan, Iran. The temperature of the tea these participants drank was divided into two categories: very hot (60°C and above) and lukewarm (below 60°C). The participants who drank 700 ml or more of ‘very hot’ tea every day had a 90 per cent higher chance of developing oesophageal cancer compared to the participants who consumed less than 700 ml of ‘lukewarm’ tea. Dr Farhad Islami, the chief researcher, said that it would be a reasonable public-health measure to advise people to consume all beverages at temperatures less than 60°C.