You truly can't understate just how terrible smoking cigarettes is for your health. It absolutely ravages your lungs, it makes your breath smell bad, your teeth look rough, and it quickly becomes one of the worst habits you could ever pick up. Moreover, it can feel impossible to truly beat the need for nicotine. For legendary director David Lynch, smoking has been a constant since he was eight years old. Now, he's feeling the painful effects from smoking for so long.
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Recently, Lynch spoke with PEOPLE Magazine for an interview. There, he candidly talks about how one of his biggest addictions, cigarettes, irrevocably altered his current life. He always had a strong taste for it and was a fundamental part of his life. However, four years ago, doctors diagnosed him with emphysema, a condition that causes shortness of breath. Now, David needs supplemental oxygen just to walk, let alone leave his house. ""In the back of every smoker's mind is the fact that it's healthy, so you're literally playing with fire," the director says. "It can bite you. I took a chance, and I got bit."
Director David Lynch Needs Oxygen Just to Walk Due to Bad Cigarette Habit
Later in the conversation, Lynch admits that quitting didn't really work until his condition forced him to do so. "I saw the writing on the wall. and it said, 'You're going to die in a week if you don't stop,'" the Twin Peaks director says. "I could hardly move without gasping for air. Quitting was my only choice."
Additionally, he likens his current condition to 'walking around with a plastic bag around your head.' However, Lynch still doesn't regret his bad habit, regardless of where it got him. Additionally, he also doesn't find it to be a bad influence. Rather, it's just an extension of reality in our lives. David also hopes that his experience can embolden others to quit while they're ahead. "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. I never thought about it as glamorizing it," the Mulholland Drive director says.
"It was a part of life. Some characters would be smokers, just like in real life. I really wanted to get this across: Think about it. You can quit these things that are going to end up killing you," Lynch concludes. "I owe it to them — and to myself — to say that."
