Hi. It seems unlikely that your tonsillitis was due to a streptococcal infection especially since you tested negative and did not respond to the antibiotics for a strep infection. It seems more possible that the whitish (pseudomembrane) swollen tonsillitis could be due to an Epstein barr virus infection (EB Virus) which is common in young sexually active individuals. It is not necessary that the EB virus always results in infectious mononucleosis (IM) which is also known as kissing s disease since it is transmitted by direct contact from oral secretions. The history of smoking may have reduced your ability to fight infections occurring in the throat due to damaged mucociliary cells present in the pharyngeal mucosal lining. EB viruses enable many other bacteria to infect the tonsils thereby causing a prolonged course of illness. It is recommended that you get a monospot test for IM and visit an ENT to evaluate you for all other causes of membranous tonsillitis (agranulocytosis, candidiasis etc). If nothing is picked up on the tests or after the evaluation then it is suggested that you continue symptomatic management by performing gargles with Betadine or Tantum before and after meals for about 5 days along with cessation of smoking and abstaining from sexual activities for a couple of weeks. Also note that antibiotics such as amoxicillin/ampicillin are contraindicated in IM since they may cause rashes.