Hollywood icon Burt Reynolds has thanked his fans for their continued support following his battle with drug addiction.
The 73-year-old actor was admitted to the Hanley Center in Florida last month (Aug09) after a nasty fall at his home in Hobe Sound led him to realise he had a dependency on prescription painkillers.
He was discharged from the drug rehabilitation centre this week (begs14Sep09) after completing a 30-day detox treatment programme.
Reynolds' manager, Erik Kritzer, confirmed the rehab stint, insisting the star only relapsed after undergoing painful surgery on his back and "checked himself into rehab in order to regain control of his life."
The actor previously confessed to a reliance on sleeping aid Halcion after turning to the drug to ease the terrible pain he felt from temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) in the 1980s.
And Reynolds hopes going public with his personal struggle will help ease the stigma surrounding drug addiction.
In a statement, he says; "I felt that in spite of the fact I am supposedly a big tough guy, I couldn't beat prescription drugs on my own. I've worked hard to get off of them and really hope other people will realise they need to seek professional help, rather than ignoring the problem or trying to get off of the prescriptions on their own.
"This has been a challenging time for me personally, and I really appreciate the outpouring of love and support from my fans, friends and family. I am looking forward to getting back to teaching and working."