Ask A.J. is Slate’s advice column on addiction, recovery, and how to hate yourself less. Submit a question here. It’s anonymous! Dear A.J., I started smoking in high school and successfully ...

I quit smoking on New Year’s Day 2024. Three days later, I buy a pack of cigarettes. The addict who’s lived inside me since I was 17 knew I would.

At the time, my act of quitting smoking seemed like a small decision in the great scheme of things. I saw it as “getting back to who I was” rather than a great leap forward in my life.