Whitney Houston's lawyer has dismissed 'ridiculous' media reports that the singer-actress was heading back to a rehabilitation centre.

The rumours of Houston heading to a rehab hit the headlines after she found it hard to breath and disappeared backstage for several minutes at a time, reports dailystar.co.uk.

Terming the rumours 'ridiculous', her lawyer Marty Singer clarified that breathing difficulties were caused by smoking cigarettes and denied allegations that she had returned to using cocaine.

'Whitney is not headed to rehab. She is headed to Paris where she will be continuing her world tour,' said Marty.

'Ridiculous. It did not happen,' he added.