“Star Trek” star Leonard Nimoy, 82, revealed he is suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after photos of him sitting in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask hit the web.
According to the COPD Foundation, “COPD is an umbrella term used to describe progressive lung diseases including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, refractory (non-reversible) asthma, and some forms of bronchiectasis.” It is characterized by increasing breathlessness.
Nimoy took on the role of Spock in 1966, notes the BBC.
The British Independent adds that although he stopped attending “Star Trek” conventions in 2011, Nimoy made a cameo as Spock in the 2013 film “Star Trek Into Darkness,” and a number of guest appearances in the science fiction series “Fringe,” which ran until 2013.
Despite his current condition, E! News reports that he is still involved in work commitments and “anything involving the Trek world.”
Leonard Nimoy says that he quit smoking too late although he quit 30 years ago.
I wonder if the SHS in the casinos that he has been doing conventions in for decades had anything to do with his lung disease?
The media is playing down the value of quitting smoking as well as telling people that if they already have lung disease, it’s too late to quit. It’s never too late to quit!
Leonard you are an icon. Your voice needs to be heard on secondhand smoke also!