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

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.

David Lynch warns other smokers of the price they'll have to pay for the destructive addiction after his emphysema diagnosis.

Filmmaker David Lynch has recently opened up about his prolonged battle with emphysema—a chronic lung condition predominantly caused by smoking.

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.