Ozzy Osbourne has insisted that tobacco is the 'most addictive thing' he has ever consumed.
The Black Sabbath rocker, 75, opened up about his experiences with the product during a conversation with his family about legalizing marijuana on The Osbournes Podcast.
The rocker, who recently revealed he has “10 more years at best” amid his health problems, said he believed marijuana should be “legalized everywhere” before describing how addictive tobacco had been for him.
“I think it should be legalized everywhere,” Ozzy said. “I will say this, it is definitely a gateway drug…I would rather people smoke marijuana than tobacco. Tobacco is without a doubt the most addictive thing I have ever put into my body.'
His wife Sharon Osbourne, 71, on the other hand, has made no secret of her aversion to cannabis. “Marijuana is a stuff that makes you a mess and if you sit there all day you lose all incentive to do anything and I think it sucks,” she said.
Ozzy Osbourne has insisted that tobacco is the 'most addictive thing' he has ever consumed
The tobacco line is a statement Ozzy has made countless times in the past; pictured 1983
Their son Jack Osbourne, 38, said marijuana should be legalized but added there needed to be more education about its effects.
“I think it should be legalized, but I think people should be honest about what marijuana actually does,” Jack said.
“It takes away your motivation,” Sharon continued.
Jack continued and adding marijuana wasn't the “cure” that many thought it was: “Over the last twenty years there has been so much push to legalize it medically and recreationally and they're basically treating it like it's the miracle cure and the miracle cure for everything… that is not true,” he said.
'It's amazing and it works wonders for people with certain conditions and their bodies if they have the right kind of makeup, it can do amazing things. It can also do terrible things to people,” he added.
“Alcohol can, tobacco can,” his father added.
The tobacco line is a statement Ozzy has made countless times in the past. “That being said, by far the most addictive thing I have ever put into my body is tobacco,” Ozzy shared The Telegraph in 2009.
'Towards the end I was chewing the gum, smoking the fake cigarettes, wearing the patches and smoking 20 a day. I tried cigars, but within a week I was smoking and inhaling 30 Cohibas a day. Now I don't do anything anymore. I got tired of always being busy with something.'
His wife Sharon Osbourne, on the other hand, made no secret of her distaste for cannabis, saying she thought it was 'crap'.
Their son Jack Osbourne said marijuana should be legalized, but added that there should be more education about its effects
The latest update comes after Ozzy gave a candid interview about his health and how he isn't afraid of dying because he doesn't want a “long miserable existence” but still has “plenty of life” left in him.
Ozzy – who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2003 – revealed that doctors found a tumor in his spine during a fourth operation on his back after a fall in 2019.
He told Rolling Stone, Great Britain: 'I'm not afraid of dying, but I don't want to live a long, painful and miserable existence.
'I like the idea that if you have a terminal illness you can go to a place in Switzerland and get it done quickly. I watched my father die of cancer.
“But look, I told Sharon I smoked a joint recently and she said, 'What are you doing that for?
“It'll fucking kill you!” I said, 'How long do you fucking want me to live?!' Best case scenario, I still have ten years left and when you're older “Time goes by faster. Sharon and I recently celebrated 41 years of marriage, and I think that's just incredible!”
“That said, by far the most addictive thing I have ever put into my body is tobacco,” Ozzy told the Telegraph in 2009; Osbourne pictured in 1988
Describing the series of operations he recently underwent following his fall in 2019, he confessed: 'It really shocked me. The second surgery went drastically wrong and left me virtually crippled.
'I thought I would be able to get going again after the second and third, but during the last one they put a rod in my spine. They found a tumor in one of the vertebrae, so they had to dig all of that out too. It's pretty rough, man, and my balance is all messed up.”
Last year, the musician underwent “life-changing” surgery to remove and realign a series of pins in his neck and back following a 2003 quad bike accident.
In September, Ozzy revealed on his family's podcast, The Osbournes Podcast, that another surgery was planned.
He said, 'My lower back is, I'm going for an epidural soon because what's happening, what they've discovered is that the neck has been repaired, under the neck there are two vertebrae where the bike hit me and fell apart, there's nothing left theirs,'
His son Jack Osbourne asked, “Do they fuse disks?”
Ozzy admits he has '10 years left at best' and has been left 'virtually crippled' by multiple back surgeries (pictured last month)
Ozzy explained that he “didn't know” what the medical professionals were going to do, but said, “All I know right now is that I'm in a lot of pain, I'm in a lot of discomfort.”
He recently said he is “struggling” with his health issues and recently had a filter removed from his vein.
Earlier this year, the threat of blood clots affecting Ozzy's major organs was reduced, with him admitting he desperately wanted to 'get on with his life'.
On his Ozzy Speaks SiriusXM channel, he said, “I'm fighting through it, like last Monday, I went to have a filter removed.”
He added: 'When I had the blood clots in my legs they put a filter in your vein to stop the blood clots going to your heart and your brain. It sounds worse than it is. So on Monday I went to have it removed.
“The blood clots have you all stuck. It's just disappointment after disappointment. Get the fuck done so I can get on with my life.
Ozzy admitted he is in 'constant pain' and added: 'I feel like a man with one leg in a kicking ass match. The only thing that keeps me going is making records. But I can't do that forever.
'I have to get out of there. I'm still in constant pain. I'm doing my best to stay off the pain medication.'