LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Dolph Lundgren, who starred in 'Rocky IV', won a lifetime achievement award at the 2019 Cigar Smokers of the Year Awards and showed up on the red carpet holding a cigar four years after receiving the diagnosis. In an interview with Graham Besinger on 'In Depth with Graham Besinger' earlier this week, the 65-year-old Swedish actor shared for the first time his battle with cancer and acknowledged that his sickness might be connected to his usage of steroids in the 1980s and 1990s.
The 65-year-old actor made his first public admission that he was initially given the kidney cancer diagnosis in 2015 on the May 10 broadcast of 'In Depth'. After the surgery, he was symptom-free for nearly five years before it was revealed in 2020, that he had more tumors in his kidney and liver, per TMZ.
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Dolph Lundgren's love for cigars
Lundgren omitted to mention his love of cigars, which he loudly flaunted at the 2019 ceremony in London, where he was photographed smiling on the red carpet with one and received the lifetime achievement award from Tom Parker Bowles, the son of Queen Camilla, reports Daily Mail.
In an interview with Cigar Aficionado Magazine that followed, Lundgren revealed that his "sophisticated" father had taught him how to smoke cigars while he was growing up in Sweden. Lundgren had mentioned smoking a cigar at 'Rocky IV' co-star Sylvester Stallone's house months earlier.
He continued by saying that he often smoked cigars on movie sets since there was "nothing else to do." He said that his favorite brand was Cubans, which he started smoking in 1994 when he wed jewelry designer Anette Qviberg, whom he eventually divorced. Lundgren continued, saying that it was "kind of pleasant to smoke a cigar together" as he worked on 'The Expendables' with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The actor explained that while his diet changed as he grew older, he still enjoyed cigars. When asked about his smoking regimen at home in Los Angeles, the actor claimed there was nothing he loved more than capping off his nightly "ritual" with a cigar. "I smoked a lot for a while, especially in Montreal where I did a lot of movies and you get a lot of good cigars," the speaker said. "I think I smoked four cigars a day. Small ones," he continued.
'I tried steroids back in the 80s, 90s'
In an interview with host Graham Basinger earlier this week, Lundgren made his lung cancer diagnosis public for the first time. In the conversation, the actor claimed that his initial diagnosis in 2015, followed by a brief period of remission, may have been brought on by his steroid use in the 1980s and 1990s.
"I tried steroids back in the 80s, 90s," he admitted. "I don't know if that is something to do with the cancer, of course it struck me as it could have something to do with it. I thought about it, you always think you've made a mistake. I think maybe there is some connection between testosterone therapy and cancer. I was on steroids when I was younger, on and off for maybe ten years. Depending on the kind of movie I made," Lundgren continued.
Can smoking cigars truly lead to cancer?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that regular cigar smokers are more likely to develop heart disease, gum disease, esophageal, laryngeal, and oral cancers. The FTC enforced health warnings on tobacco packaging in 2001, adding labels like "Cigar Smoking Can Cause Lung Cancer And Heart Disease" on the package.
The CDC notes on its website that cigars "contain the same toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in cigarettes and are not a safe alternative to cigarettes." The National Cancer Institute cautions that pancreatic cancer can also be brought on by smoking cigars. The NCI states, "All cigar and cigarette smokers, whether or not they inhale, directly expose their lips, mouth, tongue, throat, and larynx to smoke and its toxic and cancer-causing chemicals."