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Public service campaigns have been telling us for decades how bad smoking is for people's health and for the health of those around them, and the evidence can't be credibly denied; smoking can be bad for people. So, it may not be politically correct to acknowledge, affirm, or court smokers for your marketing campaigns. But the fact is, around 20% of Americans smoke; which make smokers a huge market for your goods and services.

This is not a market your company can afford to ignore. Smokers are citizens like any other, with disposable income and needs that someone has to meet. This is why it's a good idea to pay special attention to them with promotional items such as ashtrays. Promotional companies are not ignoring this important segment of the population; there are about 150 promotional companies in the United States that offer ashtrays, imprinted with their client's logos, to the promotional products market.

Ashtrays come in more styles, shapes, sizes, and designs than you might imagine. They come shaped as squares, triangles, shaped like playing cards, rectangular, circles, football shaped, diamond shaped, slipper shaped, blocks with hollows inside for the ashes, CD shaped, flat, curved, cigar shaped, bottle shaped, cylindrical, wheel-shaped, pumpkin shaped, dice shaped, letter shaped, and many other novelty shapes that suit your business themes. They are available in material such as glass, crystal (including fine crystal such as Waterford), plastic, porcelain (even designer porcelains like Limoges), ceramic, stainless steel, leather, linoleum, aluminum or wood. And of course, you can get them in almost any color imaginable to match your brand's colors or to make them stand out even more.

There are also related products that you can get with your logo on them. Cigar smokers have their own set of special equipment, which includes ashtrays, but also includes humidors, cutters, and cigar-minders. You can get lighters with your name on them to accompany the ashtrays, smokeless ashtrays with tops to minimize the spread of smoke into the room, and portable ashtrays for smokers' trips outside. Ashtrays can be combined with key chains, and there are even 2-in-1 ashtray/lighter combinations.

Outdoor ashtrays, the kind that stand freely on the ground, are also available and can be imprinted with your logo. These might make good promotional gifts, but they are even better for placing around the boundaries of your own building, to advertise to everyone who passes by that this is your company.

For smokers, an ashtray is always close at hand. They keep one in every room of the house, on every table top, and often keep one in their car. Many smokers also carry a portable ashtray for those places that are not smoker-friendly. Having your logo on a nice-looking ashtray is one way to keep your business information in sight of a fifth of the country's population, and an excellent way to show them that whatever might be politically correct, you still respect them and welcome them into your business.