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Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) has COPD, and suggests that it may have been related to decades of smoke machines in stage productions.
https://apple.news/AogWAi2NiRWCklmboJ7rOSg
https://apple.news/AogWAi2NiRWCklmboJ7rOSg
Ian Anderson Reveals Incurable Lung Disease (COPD)
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Sad news for Ian, especially if he was never a smoker and this is purely stage-relate. Still, Phil Woods had COPD for years and continued to play his *** off.
Interesting connection re: the smoke machines. You'd think we'd be seeing a lot more old rockers, guitar techs, roadies, and sound/light/stage guys with COPD or other lung issues if there were a causal link, though.
Interesting connection re: the smoke machines. You'd think we'd be seeing a lot more old rockers, guitar techs, roadies, and sound/light/stage guys with COPD or other lung issues if there were a causal link, though.
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He was a smoker but that doesn't mean problems won't manifest later in life.
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No, I wouldn't think that. A musician that plays a wind instrument is moving tremendous amounts of air when they play - hence the contact probability of toxins rises exponentially. We also don't know the number of cases that have occurred.
I can't say I've ever been on a stage with a smoke effect machine. But smoking tobacco puts heavily concentrated smoke right into the lungs, whereas on a stage the concentration's probably less.
I suspect that there are plenty of people all through the rock and roll business who now have various lung diseases due to the prevalence of cigarette smoking throughout the entertainment industry clear into the 1990s. None of them are famous, so we don't hear about them.
I suspect that there are plenty of people all through the rock and roll business who now have various lung diseases due to the prevalence of cigarette smoking throughout the entertainment industry clear into the 1990s. None of them are famous, so we don't hear about them.
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So much a part of UK hippdom. I hope he Plugs on!
I'd'v thought, with all that's gone on over the last months, that folks wouldn't be chucking round "exponentially" quite so lightly!
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I don't toss it lightly. If you look at the math of increasing the flux of ingestion, concentration, and frequency, the math is an exponential relationship.
As opposed to say, a singer, who, you know, isn't moving tremendous amounts of air as they sing and dance around the stage. :scratch: :doubt:
^^ Exactly. Science tells us COPD is caused by long-term exposure to any number of inhaled lung irritants in sufficient concentration - most often cigarette smoke.
The most comprehensive, yet still small, study on theatrical fog found that "lung function was significantly lower among those working closest to the fog source," and concluded that "mineral oil- and glycol-based fogs are associated with acute and chronic adverse effects on respiratory health among employees." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15828073
A second study found that mineral-oil-based fogs have a higher concentration of harmful inhalable particles compared to glycol-based fogs. That study, too, found that those working in closest proximity to the fog machines are at the highest risk (in this case, theater "grips," AKA stagehands/set changers). Increased distance from the machine lowered the concentration of harmful particles. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15884183
Nowadays there are regulations in place governing the use of fog machines as it pertains to the base mixture of the "fog" and maximum allowable concentration in a particular space.
The biggest problem, as you astutely point-out, is the confounding factor of highly prevalent cigarette smoking (and 2nd-hand exposure) among the population in question. So, in conclusion, it's a bit rich for Ian to attribute his COPD to fog machines without first acknowledging his history of smoking (a known, not speculated, cause of COPD).
Not saying it's impossible that the fog played a role. Hell, it's probable. But, at least in Ian's case and the case of many other rockers/roadies/techs, the connection is correlative at best.
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This is very sad that there are such serious cases and that people have been struggling with it all their lives. My wife also has some health problems but they are not so serious. She has neuropathy, having problems with blood vessels. I am very sorry that she has these problems but I am glad that they are not so big, especially since lately the results of the analyzes show that everything is getting better and better, which is gratifying. After taking supplements that improve blood circulation for a year from Improve Blood Circulation | Rocket Man Naturals everything started to improve and we are glad that we found such a solution.
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