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David Lynch had a long and successful career in film before he died in January 2025. The late 78-year-old Twin Peaks director and actor was a smoker for most of his life — since the age of 8 years old, he once revealed — and he battled a health issue during his final years. Nevertheless, David still kept a positive attitude, even telling PEOPLE in November 2024 that he didn’t regret smoking. However, he still advised others to “quit these things that are going to end up killing” them.
Learn about David’s health and his final months before his death below.
David Lynch Started Smoking at 8 Years Old
During his November 2024 interview with PEOPLE, David revealed he started smoking when he was only 8 years old. The Montana native pointed out that smoking was a “big, important part of [his] life” and that he “loved the smell of tobacco, the taste of tobacco.”
“I loved lighting cigarettes,” he added. “It was part of being a painter and a filmmaker for me.”
(Photo by Bonnie Schiffman/Getty Images)
David Lynch Battled Emphysema
For decades, David didn’t quit smoking until he was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020. Emphysema is a chronic lung illness and is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Eraserhead director admitted he knew that smoking would lead to problems during his 2024 PEOPLE interview.
“In the back of every smoker’s mind is the fact that it’s healthy, so you’re literally playing with fire,” he said at the time. “It can bite you. I took a chance, and I got bit. … I saw the writing on the wall. and it said, ‘You’re going to die in a week if you don’t stop.'”
At one point, David recalled “hardly” being able to “move without gasping for air.” So, “quitting was [his] only choice,” the Fabelmans actor noted. However, David didn’t regret smoking, he said.
“It was important to me. I wish what every addict wishes for: that what we love is good for us,” the Mulholland Drive director explained. “I never thought about it as glamorizing it. It was a part of life. Some characters would be smokers, just like in real life.”
Nevertheless, David didn’t want other people to follow his example. He concluded in his interview, “I really wanted to get this across: Think about it. You can quit these things that are going to end up killing you. I owe it to them — and to myself — to say that.”
How Did David Lynch Die?
David’s official cause of death has not been revealed. Deadline reported that he was forced to evacuate his Los Angeles County Home during the Sunset fire in January 2025, and he “took a turn for the worse” after that.
