David Lynch now needs oxygen to walk: “It’s a big price to pay”

David Lynch began smoking when he was just 8 years old, but the director has now been diagnosed with emphysema and tells People he relies on supplemental oxygen to get around, even if it’s just across the room.

“It’s tough living with emphysema,” Lynch said. “I can hardly walk across a room. It’s like you’re walking around with a plastic bag around your head.” Lynch added that he kept smoking for two years after his initial diagnosis in 2020 before he finally called it quits for good. “I saw the writing on the wall. and it said, ‘You’re going to die in a week if you don’t stop,’” Lynch said. “I could hardly move without gasping for air. Quitting was my only choice.“

It’s hard to picture Lynch without a cigarette in his hand, and he admits that it was a very important part of his life and creative process. “I loved the smell of tobacco, the taste of tobacco,” he said. “I loved lighting cigarettes. It was part of being a painter and a filmmaker for me.” While his health struggles are a “big price to pay,” Lynch says he doesn’t regret his decades of smoking: “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.“

However, the disease is now keeping Lynch from doing what he loves most: making movies. “I love being on set,” he said. “I love being right there, able to whisper to people.” Lynch added that he hopes his experiences will be valuable to other smokers. “I really wanted to get this across: Think about it. You can quit these things that are going to end up killing you,” he said. “I owe it to them — and to myself — to say that.“

Despite the diagnosis, Lynch has previously said he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon and is hopeful that he could try directing remotely in the future. The director’s last major project was Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017. He directed all 18 episodes of the series and co-wrote the scripts with Mark Frost.