Cancer of the upper digestive tract is very common among males in Switzerland in comparison with 19 other industrialized countries. The sex ratio is closely correlated with the mortality rates in men in these countries. Cancers of these sites are relatively more frequent among young adults than for all the other sites. After a brief review of the main risk factors the discussion focuses on tobacco and alcoholic beverages consumption. The distribution of these two risk factors and their relationship to age in a sample of 226 patients in Lausanne is discussed. If compared, the geographical variations in Switzerland of both the occurrence of the disease and the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed suggests an association. Finally, it seems likely that carcinogenic substances exist in some of the Swiss beverages. A research hypothesis related to the difference between the mutagenic properties of the beverages used by cancer patients and by controls is proposed for further study.