Amy Winehouse’s Rep Denies Emphysema Report

A disparity concerning the health of Amy Winehouse appeared Monday after the Grammy-winning singer's father said she had incipient stage emphysema caused by smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes.

The singer’s U.S. based representative later said that Mitch Winehouse had misspoken “out of his concern for her”.

"She is not diagnosed with full-blown emphysema, but instead has early signs of what could lead to emphysema," Tracey Miller, the publicist for Amy Winehouse, told The Associated Press on Monday.

Amy’s father said in an interview published Sunday by the Daily Mail of London that his daughter's crack and cigarette smoking had generated early-stage emphysema, and that the singer had an abnormal heartbeat. He said she had been told that she would have to walk everywhere wearing an oxygen mask unless she quits smoking drugs.

Still, in an interview later with BBC Radio 1, he seemed to take back his drastic statements, and said: "Amy really hasn't got emphysema, there are traces of emphysema. Obviously, if she doesn't quit smoking, it's going to get worse, like everyone else ... with patience her lungs will recover completely." Mitch Winehouse added that his daughter had nicotine patches all over her body and is "flourishing" as a response to therapy.

Emphysema is a lung disease caused mainly by smoking. It takes years to develop and is preponderant in people over the age of 45.

The 24-year-old soul diva fainted at her north London home Monday after signing autographs for fans and was taken for tests to a London hospital where she stayed all week.

At this time, she has not cancelled her performance during a concert in London on Friday celebrating the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela and plans to participate in the Glastonbury music festival the next day.