'Don’t f–k around!' Travis Barker opens up on quitting smoking after precancer diagnosis

Travis Barker is not smoking at all, and the reason behind it is serious. During an appearance on the Big Bro with Kid Cudi podcast, the drummer revealed that he was diagnosed with precancer of the esophagus.

The Blink-182 drummer was once a heavy smoker who would smoke 10-15 blunts a day. But that habit soon began to take a serious toll on his body, and ultimately forced him to put a full stop to it.

Barker admitted that smoking had become a daily routine, something he loved, but also something he couldn't control. Over time, the excessive smoking started affecting his health, his breathing, and his overall well-being.

Speaking on the podcast, Barker admitted he only quit because his body gave him no other choice after being diagnosed with precancer of the esophagus.

“I only quit because I got diagnosed with precancer of the esophagus,” he shared before adding, ‘’I loved blunts and I would smoke too much. So that was the only thing.''

''My doctor was like, ‘This is your warning shot, Trav. Don’t f*** around. You gotta stop smoking.’ Or I would have never stopped. I thought I could be like Willie Nelson and smoke ‘til the day I died,” he said.

The drummer said, “I don’t know if I was high anymore… It was just maintaining, you know?”

What is Esophagus pre-cancer?

Esophagus precancer means the cells lining the esophagus, the food pipe that connects your mouth to your stomach, have started to change abnormally, but they are not cancer yet. This condition is also called Barrett's esophagus with dysplasia.

In Barker's case, smoking likely made the condition much worse. Smoking, especially heavy smoking, greatly increases irritation and damage to the esophagus. It weakens the valve that prevents acid reflux and exposes the lining to harmful chemicals, which can speed up the change from healthy cells to precancerous cells.

Travis Barker on why he quit smoking weed

In 2008, Barker survived a plane crash that killed four people. It was after that tragedy that he quit using prescription drugs. In an interview with Men's Health, he talked about using an “excessive amount of weed.”

“People are always like, ‘Did you go to rehab?’” he told the outlet. “And I [say], ‘No, I was in a plane crash.’ That was my rehab. Lose three of your friends and almost die? That was my wake-up call. If I wasn’t in a crash, I would have probably never quit.”