From the official White Stripes newsletter:

The White Stripes announced today that they are canceling their forthcoming tour due to health issues. Meg White is suffering from acute anxiety and is unable to travel at this time.

The White Stripes sincerely apologize to their fans.

“We hate to let people down and are very sorry.”

Fans can obtain refunds for their tickets at point of purchase.

Dates affected:

9/13/07 Albuquerque, NM @ Kiva Auditorium
9/15/07 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
9/16/07 Austin, TX @ Stubbs Bar-B-Q
9/18/07 San Diego, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
9/19/07 Inglewood, CA @ The Forum
9/21/07 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
9/24/07 Anchorage, AK @ George M. Sullivan Sports Arena
9/26/07 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Ballroom
9/27/07 Seattle, WA @ Paramount Ballroom
9/28/07 Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Theater
9/29/07 Salt Lake City, UT @ The E Center
9/30/07 Jackson Hole, WY @ Snowking Center
10/2/07 Rapid City, SC @ Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
10/3/07 Fargo, ND @ Fargo Civic Auditorium
10/4/07 Lincoln, NE @ Pershing Center Auditorium
10/6/07 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
10/7/07 Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
10/10/07 Honolulu, HI @ Neal S. Blaisdell Center

Acute anxiety, also known as panic disorder, is characterized by “unexpected and repeated episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical symptoms that may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or abdominal distress.”

Oh, and to everyone who has been taking the piss and/or being vaguely insensitive to Meg’s mental health, shame on you. Blog No Dessert for You had a post earlier that claimed that they had been told by Austin City Limits concert producers, C3 Presents, that Meg had a “nervous breakdown” and joked “What’s your deal, Meg? You’re awesome, and your job ain’t that hard.” No Dessert for You has since detracted the post (which was titled “Girl, You Have No Faith in Therapy”), stating that they had received a “correction” from C3–aka, a freaked-out phone call from their source at C3.

I for one am impressed by the White Stripes’ being forthcoming about Meg’s condition (instead of just citing “exhaustion”) and hope that Meg gets better soon. If and when she is better, she very well might inspire people with the same problem to seek out help.

Well wishes, Meg!

UPDATE: The White Stripes have canceled all tour dates through the end of the year. From the mailing list:

The White Stripes have canceled all remaining tour dates through the end of the year, this includes all dates in the UK this Fall. They thank you for your understanding and well wishes.

Fans can obtain refunds for their tickets at point of purchase, except for Austin City Limits Festival which is nonrefundable due to it being a festival. If you purchased your tickets for any of the canceled shows via a fan pre-sale on the band’s web site, please email tix@musictoday.com for refunds.