I agree with you. When I was seriously uncontrolled, I quit for 6 years.
But now is a bit different. As an example, in the last 2 months the maximum amount I smoked was 4 grams a week (and that was way too much). And before that, I was 9 months without one joint or beer, and did so without great effort or suffering.
So I conclude that there are degrees of addiction, even though the pattern is the same.