Beer filtered with asbestos could be the reason behind a dramatic increase of gullet cancer in men, scientists claim.
The use of asbestos in beer was popular until the 80s as it filtered impurities from the drink.
Some pub owners added a handful of asbestos into "slops" at the end of shift and left it overnight for 'cleansing'.
They would then serve it to customers the next day.
Researchers at Cambridge and Liverpool universities believe the asbestos put in pints of beer could be the reason behind a fourfold rise in oesophageal cancers.
Cancer of the gullet - the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach, currently kills almost 8,000 Brits every year.
Cases have been on the rise over the past 50 years with 90% occurring in men.
Dr Jonathan Rhodes said: "Asbestos from beer consumed before around 1980 seems a plausible factor."
Andy Tighe, of the British beer and Pub association, said asbestos was used in food manufacturing.
He added: "It’s difficult to associate health impacts from any one potential source."
