WHO: Very hot drinks may cause cancer

Very hot drinks probably cause cancer, an agency of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said very hot drinks (65C and over) probably cause cancer of the oesophagus. But it ruled there was “no conclusive evidence” that coffee itself causes cancer.

Dr Christopher Wild, director of IARC, said: “These results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of oesophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible.”