Hot tea promotes cancer risks from smoking and drinking alcohol

Hot tea increases the risk of cancer of the esophagus caused by alcohol and cigarettes

For many people, there is nothing better than a nice hot cup of tea when they want to relax. But the temperature of the drink should not be too high. For a new study showed that hot tea increases the risk of cancer from smoking and alcohol consumption.

Tea has long been known for its beneficial effects

Tea has long been known for its beneficial effects. Many people can relax with it. Some teas may also help you lose weight and some may even prevent disease. Especially green tea is very healthy. Animal studies have even shown that he may be able to protect against cancer. However, tea should not be drunk too hot otherwise it increases the risk of esophageal cancer caused by alcohol and smoking. Researchers from China have now found out.

Researchers from China have found in a study that very hot tea drunk increases the risk of cancer from alcohol and cigarette consumption. (Image: amenic181 / fotolia.com)

Do not drink hot drinks too hot

A few months ago, scientists from the US reported on a study that showed that hot-drunk black tea can protect our eyes. Accordingly, this reduces the risk of glaucoma (Green Star).

However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded in an earlier study that the temperature of beverages should not be too high as very hot drinks can have a carcinogenic effect.

The study findings "indicate that consuming very hot drinks is a likely cause of esophageal cancer, and that the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, seems to be responsible for this," explained the director of the IARC. Christopher Wild, back then.

A Chinese research group is now reporting similar results. In a study published in the journal "Annals of Internal Medicine," scientists found that consuming hot tea increases the risk of esophageal cancer from smoking and alcohol consumption.

Increased risk of esophageal cancer from alcohol and smoking

As the journal "Eurek Alert!" Reported, esophageal carcinomas (esophageal cancer) are increasing in frequency and have poor survival rates.

China is one of the countries with the most cases of esophageal cancer. Tea drinkers, especially Chinese men, smoke and drink alcohol more often.

Both alcohol and tobacco consumption are considered risk factors for esophageal cancer.

Chinese researchers now analyzed the data from subjects participating in the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study to determine if very hot tea was associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer.

Excluded were the data from people who previously had cancer or reduced their tea, alcohol or cigarette consumption.

In total, the study involved over 450,000 adult Chinese from ten regions. After around nine years, more than 1,700 participants had new cancers.

Hot tea in combination with alcohol and cigarette consumption increases cancer risk

"Drinking high-temperature tea in combination with either alcohol consumption or smoking was associated with a greater risk of esophageal cancer," write the study's authors.

Thus, study participants who drank hot tea daily and who were smokers were twice as likely to develop esophageal cancer as non-smoking tea abstainers.

Tea drinkers, who also consumed at least 15 grams of alcohol per day in addition to cigarettes, even had a fivefold increase in the risk of esophageal carcinoma.

Those who regularly drank tea but left their fingers on cigarettes and alcohol did not have an increased risk of developing cancer, according to the researchers.

"According to the authors of the study, these findings indicate that avoiding hot tea can be beneficial for people who over drink or smoke alcohol," the magazine "Eurek Alert!".

The respective results refer to male study participants. Women generally fell much less often. This may have something to do with the fact that they rarely drink their tea very hot and are more restrained when consuming alcohol and tobacco. (Ad)