As a "tobacco state," North Carolina has made great strides:  we have increased our excise tax, our General Assembly is smokefree, community colleges and public schools across the state are working on smoke-free policies, and our prisons are smokefree.  However, North Carolina's smokefree air laws are still weak. Approximately 38,000 non-smoking Americans die from secondhand smoke each year. No one in North Carolina should have to breathe toxic fumes when visiting or working in a public establishment.  The time is now to pass a comprehensive smokefree air law that will save lives.