And don't mess with my Medicare: I'll need it for the lung cancer treatment my employer didn't give me health insurance for.

South Carolina's first ciggie tax hike in 33 years is bringing out Palmetto Staters' inner socialist:

But smokers who view their addiction as of one of the last vestiges of personal independence said their rights are being trampled.

“If I want to smoke, that's my decision and I'll pay the price,” said Debra Henderson of Inman. “It's not the rich who are suffering here, it's the poor — the ones who need to smoke — who are paying. We should try taxing luxury vehicles or something.”