WHO Flags ‘Very Hot’ Drinks

Woman in glasses wrapped in a blanket holding a mug at a laptop — Photo: Pressmaster / Shutterstock

Scalding your throat over and over is the part of tea and coffee that looks risky, not the brew itself.

Story Snapshot

The World Health Organization’s cancer arm says very hot drinks probably raise oesophageal cancer risk.
The temperature cutoff flagged is above 65 degrees Celsius, not the type of drink.
A large UK cohort found higher risk for people who like drinks hot or very hot, especially with many cups.
Some clinicians say proof is not final, but recent data strengthens the case for heat as the hazard.

The core finding: heat, not coffee or tea

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, which reviews cancer hazards for the World Health Organization, classified drinking very hot beverages as probably carcinogenic to humans in 2016. The group tied the risk to cancer of the oesophagus and stressed the culprit appears to be temperature, not coffee or tea chemicals. Later summaries reinforced the point and set “very hot” at above 65 degrees Celsius, a level that can injure the food pipe’s lining.

That framing matters. People hear “coffee causes cancer” and tune out. The evaluation did not condemn normal tea or coffee. It warned about scalding-hot habits. The oesophagus is a thin, unarmored tube. Repeated burns can inflame tissue and may make it easier for other insults, like alcohol or smoking, to push cells toward cancer. The agency also said the label is probabilistic. It flags a real hazard but does not pin down an exact safe number of cups.

What the new UK study adds

A fresh analysis from the UK Biobank followed hundreds of thousands of adults. The researchers tracked tea and coffee habits and later cancer diagnoses. People who preferred their drinks hot or very hot had a higher rate of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma than those who did not. The risk climbed with more daily cups, and it did not depend on whether the person chose tea or coffee. That dose-response pattern fits the heat hypothesis rather than a specific bean or leaf.

The study did not use thermometers at the mug. It relied on people’s stated temperature preference, which can blur the exact number of degrees. That limits precision. Still, the consistency across drink types and the step-up in risk with more very hot cups tell a coherent story. When multiple lines of evidence line up—hazard classification, case-control results, and a large cohort—common sense says adjust the habit while science refines the details.

Signals beyond Britain, and how to square skeptics

Case-control work from East and Southern Africa compared “very hot” versus merely “hot” drinkers and found almost a two-fold higher risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the very hot group. These populations often drink beverages at higher temperatures, which helps show the temperature gradient more clearly. This supports a thermal injury pathway and matches the World Health Organization’s 65 degrees Celsius concern.

#Gravitas | According to a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer, consuming very hot drinks is likely to triple the risk of developing oesophageal cancer

This is one of the most malignant cancers, leading to a high number of deaths@MollyGambhir has more pic.twitter.com/UyU7Pv2jUH

— WION (@WIONews) September 9, 2026

Some cancer centers argue the proof that heat alone raises risk is not yet ironclad and note that alcohol and smoking are major oesophageal risks. That caution is fair. But the World Health Organization’s evaluation and the new cohort results point to heat as an independent factor. The prudent path aligns with conservative values: reduce clear, low-cost risks at home while the lab work catches up—let drinks cool a few minutes and skip the tongue-scorcher.

What to do now: simple rules that stick

Wait until steam is not roaring off the cup. At home, boiled water often hits the mug at about 90 to 95 degrees Celsius. Three to five minutes of cooling can drop it well below the 65-degree zone that concerns experts. If a sip stings, it is too hot for your throat. Fewer very hot cups lower exposure. Flavor still shines when the drink is warm, not scalding. These small steps cost nothing and protect an organ you cannot see until trouble starts.

Policy does not need to police kettles. Clear labels on “extra hot” orders, simple café guidance, and public messages that separate heat from drink type would help. Researchers can tighten the evidence with mug thermometers in cohorts and endoscopic checks for heat injury markers. Until then, think like a carpenter: measure twice, cut once. In this case, let it cool, then sip. The pleasure stays; the burn risk falls.