UPDATE: Despite what Amy’s father told the media, the singer’s rep denies Winehouse has emphysema. She supposedly has a “scarring of the lungs which could lead to emphysema.”

After years of unhealthy living, it’s been determined that singer Amy Winehouse has the early stages of emphysema. This diagnosis was made after the 24-year-old collapsed at her home last Monday. A week of tests had ruled out other possibilities - such as tuberculosis - for her chest problems.

According to the Mayo Clinic, emphysema is “is a progressive lung disease that results in shortness of breath and reduces your capacity for physical activity.” Unfortunately, Winehouse could have been suffering for some time and didn’t experience any symptoms “until irreversible damage” had already occurred.

Amy’s father, Mitch, told the Sunday Mirror, “With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes her lungs are all gunked up. There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She’s got 70 per cent lung capacity.” He also said that if the performer had continued on her normal way for another month, the doctors claimed she could have easily been sitting in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask attached to her face.

Fearing his daughter will revert to bad habits once she is back home, Mitch has already made pleas to those in the singer’s inner circle. “I’m saying to those drug dealers, and they know who they are, if they are supplying crack to Amy, then they’ve got to take responsibility. I don’t want her hanging out with her mates like Pete Doherty either.”

In the meantime, Mitch is hoping Amy will still be able to perform at next week’s Glastonbury Festival as scheduled; he thinks music is one of the few things that can help save her life. “When she’s been inactive work-wise then that’s when the problems really start. The doctors have said that medically there isn’t any reason why she can’t do Glastonbury.”

Best of luck to the Winehouse family. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for you.