She didn’t realize that she was addicted to nicotine until she had smoked ten cigarettes a day.
This is because the past perfect tense "had smoked" is used to show that the smoking occurred before the realization. So, her smoking ten cigarettes a day happened first, and her realization of being addicted happened later.
Both sentences are grammatically correct, but they emphasize different sequences:
"She hadn’t realized that she was addicted to nicotine until she smoked ten cigarettes a day."
This suggests that the lack of realization (not knowing she was addicted) continued until she reached the point of smoking ten cigarettes. The not-knowing came first. "She didn’t realize that she was addicted to nicotine until she had smoked ten cigarettes a day."
Here, the past perfect "had smoked" clarifies that she smoked the cigarettes before her realization.
Past perfect with until
She didn’t realize that she was addicted to nicotine until she had smoked ten cigarettes a day.
This is because the past perfect tense "had smoked" is used to show that the smoking occurred before the realization. So, her smoking ten cigarettes a day happened first, and her realization of being addicted happened later.
Both sentences are grammatically correct, but they emphasize different sequences:
"She hadn’t realized that she was addicted to nicotine until she smoked ten cigarettes a day."
This suggests that the lack of realization (not knowing she was addicted) continued until she reached the point of smoking ten cigarettes. The not-knowing came first.
"She didn’t realize that she was addicted to nicotine until she had smoked ten cigarettes a day."
Here, the past perfect "had smoked" clarifies that she smoked the cigarettes before her realization.