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

Prolific director David Lynch has been outspoken about how decades of smoking led to a emphysema diagnosis. Lynch rose to fame for directing critically acclaimed movies such as Eraserhead, The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive. He built an even bigger ...

Filmmaker David Lynch has spoken out living with late-stage emphysema, explaining he now needs oxygen just to go for a walk. The man behind Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2020 after smoking from the age of eight.

"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.

Director David Lynch, 78, started smoking at the age of 8. After being diagnosed with emphysema in 2020, he now relies on oxygen for anything more strenuous than walking across a room. "It's a big price to pay,

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.

David Lynch says he can "hardly walk across a room" due to his battle with emphysema. The Twin Peaks director contracted the chronic lung condition — which causes shortness of breath and is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD — after years of smoking and admitted that he now needs supplemental oxygen most of the time.