Winehouse emphysema just a lot of hot air

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-25  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A DISCREPANCY regarding the health of British singer Amy Winehouse has arisen after the her father said she had early stage emphysema brought on by smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes.

But a publicist for Winehouse later said he had misspoken "out of his concern for her."

"She is not diagnosed with full-blown emphysema, but instead has early signs of what could lead to emphysema," Tracey Miller, her United States-based representative, said.

In an interview published on Sunday by the Daily Mail of London, Mitch Winehouse said that his daughter's crack and cigarette smoking had led to early-stage emphysema, and that the singer had an irregular heartbeat. He said she had been warned that she will have to wear an oxygen mask unless she stops smoking drugs.

"The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs, it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her," Mitch Winehouse was quoted as saying. "There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She has 70 percent lung capacity."

However, in an interview later with BBC Radio 1, he appeared to downplay his dire statements. He added that she was covered in nicotine patches and is "flourishing" in response to treatments.

Emphysema is a lung disease caused primarily by smoking. The 24-year-old soul diva collapsed at her north London home on Monday after signing autographs for fans and was taken to a London hospital for tests.

She is still scheduled to sing at a concert in London on Friday celebrating the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela and plans to take part in the Glastonbury music festival the following day.