According to the Minnesota Department of Health, 14% of Minnesotans still smoke. I must be running into all 580,000 (or more) of them.

Tell me how many times you've found yourself in this scenario; you're leaving a bar, restaurant, office, or through the front door of your apartment complex, and you're suddenly aware of a group of smokers crowding the area. Do you feel awkward passing through? Do you feel like you're interrupting some sort of secret meeting you just happen to stumble upon? Do you even notice the group or care?

Office Worker On Cigarette Break
Getty Images: Sean Gallup
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I do. My friends that I confessed this to kept it real and told me I shouldn't feel this way.

I can't help it! I sincerely feel like I'm interrupting their good time! We'll exchange stares, and sometimes the body language of the group tells me I'm intruding - and maybe I am? My explanation of my perspective was met by my friends with laughter. Plain and simple laughter.

You might be asking yourself, "isn't there a law in Minnesota that prohibits people from smoking in entryways?" The answer to that is pretty complicated actually. It boils down to this: it's up the owner of said property to enforce and make those rules.

Here's a disclaimer: I quite honestly don't care if you smoke or not. While I personally choose not to, I understand that you're an adult. You can make your own choices.

If you do smoke, I've gotta ask: does it bother you when people are passing through?

Listen to Val afternoons from 2p to 6p on Quick Country 96.5

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