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David Lynch is dealing with major health issues from smoking for almost his entire life.
The 78-year-old director was diagnosed with emphysema, a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, back in 2020.
Today, he needs supplement oxygen to go on a walk.
“A big important part of my life was smoking,” Lynch said in a new interview with People, while sharing that he started smoking at age 8 but quit two years ago.
“I loved the smell of tobacco, the taste of tobacco. I loved lighting cigarettes,” he added. “It was part of being a painter and a filmmaker for me.”
The “Twin Peaks” creator, who is now warning other people to quit smoking, acknowledged how bad it was for his health.
“What you sow is what you reap,” he said.
Lynch went on, “In the back of every smoker’s mind is the fact that it’s healthy, so you’re literally playing with fire. It can bite you. I took a chance, and I got bit.”
The famous filmmaker explained that he tried to quit “many, many times, but when it got tough, I’d have that first cigarette, and it was a one-way trip to heaven. Then you’re back smoking again.”
Lynch also said he never thought he was “glamorizing” smoking. “It was a part of life. Some characters would be smokers, just like in real life,” he explained.
But the Oscar winner finally stopped smoking two years after he was diagnosed with emphysema.
“I saw the writing on the wall. and it said, ‘You’re going to die in a week if you don’t stop,’” said the father of four. “I could hardly move without gasping for air. Quitting was my only choice.”
Now, Lynch said he has “a positive attitude focused on the body healing itself.” However, he admitted that “it’s tough living with emphysema. I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head.”
Since his diagnosis, the “Mulholland Drive” director has been forced to stay home to avoid getting seriously sick.
He said smoking for so long was a “big price to pay,” but added, “I don’t regret it. It was important to me. I wish what every addict wishes for: that what we love is good for us.”
As for his message to other smokers, Lynch said, “I really wanted to get this across: Think about it. You can quit these things that are going to end up killing you. I owe it to them — and to myself — to say that.”
In August, Lynch told Sight and Sound magazine that he’s homebound because “it would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold.”
He also said that he’d direct “remotely” if he had to.