Both smoking and drinking alcohol are already widely-known to be linked to oesophageal cancer, but the new study, which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, proved that very hot tea can increase the risks. In the study, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, drinking "hot" or "burning hot" tea was associated with a two- to fivefold increase in esophageal cancer, but only in people who also smoked or drank alcohol. Then researchers followed the people in the study for about nine years to see how many developed esophageal cancer. People who drink at least one alcoholic beverage and a "burning hot" cup of tea on a daily basis were five times more likely to develop esophageal cancer than people who drank tea at any temperature less than once a week, the study found. However, for people who smoked tobacco or drank alcohol -- both of which are known to cause esophageal cancer -- drinking "hot" or "burning hot" tea made their risk of cancer even higher, according to Jun Lv, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Peking University and a lead author on the study. But the authors speculate that hot tea may damage the tissue lining the esophagus, which could increase the chance of injury from other risk factors like smoking and drinking. However, previous research has suggested that drinking hot beverages at temperatures above 149 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius) could lead to esophageal cancer. In recent years, there has been some contradictory information about tea and cancer. “It’s important to abstain from high-temperature tea in excessive alcohol consumers and smokers for esophageal cancer prevention,” Lv wrote in an email.
– It's a specific health warning for a specific group of people: If you smoke, drink alcohol, and also happen to drink tea, let the latter cool down before you drink it. Failing to do so might raise your risk of esophageal cancer, suggests a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine by Chinese researchers. The idea is that hot tea (or, presumably, any hot beverage) can damage cells in the esophagus and make it more vulnerable to the damage caused by cigarettes and alcohol, the lead researcher tells the Telegraph. How hot is too hot? The researchers didn't specify, but CNN notes that previous research on hot beverages pegged the danger zone at 149 degrees Fahrenheit and above. "Irritating the lining of the esophagus could lead to increased inflammation and more rapid turnover of the cells," explains a National Cancer Institute investigator who was not involved with the study. "Alternatively, hot liquids may impair the barrier function of the cells lining the esophagus, leaving the tissue open to greater damage from other carcinogens." The observational study was a massive one, following nearly 500,000 Chinese adults ages 30 to 79 for about a decade. Those who drank hot tea and either smoked or used alcohol, but not both, also saw an increased risk of cancer, though it wasn't as great, reports Time. And hot tea alone did not carry a significant risk increase.