Pictured: Michael Douglas and wife Catherine Zeta-Jones smoking... seven months after he beat throat cancer

Up in smoke: Michael Douglas smokes what appears to be a cigarette while aboard a yacht in the Italian Riviera last month

In January Michael Douglas proclaimed he was confident he'd beaten throat cancer.

But as these photos show, it seems the 66-year-old is struggling to keep his nicotine addiction under control.

The Hollywood actor is seen here smoking what appeared to be a hand-rolled cigarette while aboard a yacht on a recent holiday in the Italian Riviera.


Double trouble: His wife Catherine Zeta-Jone was also seen puffing away during the break

His wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, who supported her husband through his stage IV cancer battle last year, was also clocked with a cigarette in hand during the break.

To many, the image of the couple smoking just seven months after Douglas returned to health may come as a something of a shock.


Hard habit to kick: A recent study showed that it is not uncommon for cancer patients and their family members to continue smoking after diagnosis

However, statistcs show it is not uncommon for people who develop cancer to continue smoking after diagnosis.

A recent U.S. study by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that up to 18 per cent of lung cancer patients continue to smoke after discovering they have the illness.

And around 25 per cent of family members also kept up the habit, despite having watched their loved one's battle the condition.