I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head,” David Lynch said.

"I saw the writing on the wall, and it said, 'You're going to die in a week if you don't stop,'" says the director, who was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020.

It complicates his directing job, but Lynch doesn’t plan to stop working. He stated on X in August that he’d “never retire,” amidst reports that his condition meant he wouldn’t be directing any more. However, Lynch told the People he’d consider directing remotely, as his disease makes him more susceptible to respiratory illnesses.

Acclaimed director David Lynch started smoking at age 8 and now relies on supplemental oxygen for anything more strenuous than a walk across a room, he said in an interview to People, warning people of the dangers of smoking.

Film-maker and lifelong smoker David Lynch has spoken out about the dangers of the habit, revealing he started smoking at the age of eight and now needs supplemental oxygen even to walk small distances.