It now emerges that the use mursik (fermented milk) can be deadly.
According to the National Cancer Institute, drinkers and lovers of the beverage are at a higher risk of contracting oesophageal cancer which affects the wind pipe.
The institute on Thursday claimed that reports indicate that the disease which is the leading type of cancer in the nation is more rampant in parts of Rift Valley where the beverage enjoys most followers.
The other region, according to the institute’s Acting Chief Executive Alfred Karagu, is Nothern Kenya.
“Potential risk factor associated with oesophageal cancer in a study conducted in Tenwek shows that hot beverage and use of mursik were independently associated with oesophageal cancer,’’ Karagu is quoted by the Nation.
According to Karagu, repeated ingestion of the product on a daily basis might initiate the generation of the disease on the wind pipe.
The other beverage blamed for the increasing levels of the disease include hot tea and chewing of khat, popularly referred to as miraa.
He added that the disease leads to the blocking of the windpipe, resulting in the inability to eat, and this added to the late detection and diagnosis in most cases leads to death on most occasions.
“Most patients come in late and we are not able to do much and because cancer obstructs the food pipe. Feeding for the patients becomes a problem and they succumb,” he is further quoted.