Coffee
CoffeeYoni Kempinski

Coffee-lovers can rejoice - the World Health Organization (WHO) says that their favorite drink is not as dangerous as previously believed.

Reuters reports that the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has spent years warning that coffee is "possibly carcinogenic," the same classification given to lead and chloroform. A recent review, however, showed "no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect."

The group looked into over a thousand scientific studies, conducted on both humans and animals, and concluded that there is not enough evidence for a definitive conclusion on the connection between coffee and cancer.

The American Institute for Cancer Research has offered even stronger support, saying that coffee may help stop or prevent cancer.

At the same time, though, the IARC continues to warn against hot drinks. It says that any liquids over 65 degrees Celsius, whether coffee, tea, water or anything else, is likely to cause throat cancer.

"These results suggest that drinking very hot beverages is one probable cause of esophageal cancer and that it is the temperature, rather than the drinks themselves, that appears to be responsible," IARC director Christopher Wild told AFP.