On June 3, California regulators came to the conclusion that there is no significant link between cancer and drinking coffee. The overall decision allows coffee shops throughout the state to take down warning signs that were previously mandated.

Last year, Proposition 65, the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, ruled that coffee retailers must be clear about any harmful ingredients or chemicals they propagate, putting up signs to bring awareness.

“I don’t think that coffee shops need to keep the signs because it has now been proven that there is no link between cancer and coffee,” junior Caytre Ede said. “ Coffee is so widely consumed on a daily basis that I think even with the sign, people would still drink it.”

Coffee contains acrylamide, a byproduct that comes from roasting coffee beans, is listed as a carcinogen in California. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, multiple studies have shown mixed results about the correlation between the acrylamide and cancer.

“I personally think that it is not important for coffee shops to keep signs about the health risks because if it has been disproven that they don’t cause cancer or are not correlated, then it is not a potential risk that should be posted to scare people,” junior Luna Pham said.

Recently, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment said coffee is safe to drink, based on more than 1,000 studies conducted that found no substantial evidence linking coffee to cancer.

“I think that I would be less cautious about drinking a certain amount of coffee because knowing this new information, there is less of a scare with the ingredients used in the coffee so I am not too worried on the amount that I drink,” Pham said.

With this in mind, students who drink coffee daily are not prone to cancer, due to the lack of evidence proving a correlation. Teens and adults who find coffee enjoyable will be able to disregard the chemicals used in coffee.

“I usually only drink coffee on a rare occasion, but now that I know for sure that coffee isn’t linked to cancer, I will definitely drink it more often,” Ede said.