Updated March 31st, 2021

Rocker Eddie Van Halen, 64, Says He Got Throat Cancer From Putting Metal Guitar Pick in His Mouth — Is That Possible?

Van Halen also smoked and drank heavily most of his life -- both of which are known to increase someone's risk of mouth and throat cancer.

SurvivorNet Staff

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Eddie Van Halen, the legendary guitarist from the rock band “Van Halen,” theorized that years of putting copper and brass guitar picks in his mouth caused his throat cancer. But SurvivorNet looked into this, and found that there is no sufficient evidence that copper and brass cause cancer.

Van Halen died of cancer at age 65 in October.

RELATED: As Eddie Van Halen Faces His Own Cancer Journey, Wife Janie Reveals Cancer Scare of Her Own

“I used metal picksthey’re brass and copperwhich I always held in my mouth, in the exact place where I got the tongue cancer,” he told Billboard prior to his passing. “This is just my own theory, but the doctors say it’s possible.”

Is it Possible to Get Cancer From Metal Picks?

Unlikely. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do not classify copper or the metals in brass (an alloy comprised of copper and zinc) as carcinogenic to humans. This means that there isn’t known evidence that the metals cause cancer. Plus, Van Halen has been a lifelong smoker; as he told Billboard during the same interview, he began smoking cigarettes when he was only 12 years old.

Eddie Van Halen rocking out on a guitar with a metal guitar pick in his mouth — Eddie Van Halen rocking out with a metal guitar pick in his mouth (which he now theorizes caused his throat cancer). (Image source: The Scottish Sun).

"I was an alcoholic, and I needed alcohol to function… I started drinking and smoking when I was 12. I got drunk before I'd show up to high school,” Van Halen said, adding that the reason he doesn’t credit his cancer to smoking is that, despite his throat cancer, his “lungs are totally clear.”

Here’s the thing, though — smoking is a major risk factor for oral cancer and throat cancer just as it is for lung cancer, and so is alcohol.

Eddie Van Halen smoking a cigarette at a younger age with longer and curly hair — Eddie Van Halen smoking a cigarette (Image source: Twitter).

According to the American Cancer Society, “Tobacco and alcohol use are 2 of the strongest risk factors for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers.” (Oropharyngeal cancers meaning cancers of the mouth, tongue, or throat).

What’s more, “the risk of these cancers is even higher in people who both smoke and drink alcohol, with the highest risk in heavy smokers and drinkers. According to some studies, the risk of these cancers in heavy drinkers and smokers may be as much as 100 times higher than the risk in people who don't smoke or drink.”

Eddie Van Halen with long hair in a music studio with a bottle of alcohol next to him — Eddie Van Halen was a heavy drinker for much of his life (Image source: WYBZ-FM).

For Van Halen, who was previously diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2000, it is highly likely that the heavy smoking and drinking — not the metal guitar picks — are to blame.

Eddie Van Halen in the early days — Van Halen in the early days (Image source: Rolling Stone).

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.