Replying to Dr NS...Throat hurts from smoking cigs, or is it something else?

I don't smoke cigarettes except when I'm drunk and they are available. Saturday night I smoked 6 of them throughout the course of the night. I woke up Sunday feeling fine, but later in the day my throat was irritated. I know it was from the cigs and took all precautions to make it feel better. It has only been getting worse since then though. I woke up in the middle of the night last night in the most excruciating pain in my throat. Mind you, this is 3 days after I smoked them. It's not like I'm coughing or clearing it a lot which would irritate it more. I've been eating cough drops and drinking cold water and eating warm soup and stuff. I really wouldn't care but I'm going to my girlfriends house for easter this weekend and am meeting everyone along with some young children/a newborn. Could the cigarettes be irritating me this bad or is it possible I picked up strep or something along the way?