Cigarette snuffers create a much more presentable and sanitary outdoor environment anywhere they are placed. Cigarette butts on the ground immediately disappear from areas near building entrances and outdoor waiting areas.

Commercial office parks, retail centers, municipal parks, city government buildings, amusement parks, town squares, grocery stores, shopping malls, eateries, hospitals, auto dealerships, and even many nightclubs all use them now.

The nationwide push to end cigarette smoking in all indoor public buildings was the primary cause for the near immediate demand that subsequently arose for outdoor cigarette disposal. Smokers had to move outside the building to have a cigarette, but they had no place to dispose of the cigarette butts.

This generated an enormous amount of litter around building entrances. In many cases it also hurt the public relations of many companies. Clients, customers, and guests of many establishments began to frown upon the groups of smokers congregating near the entrances to buildings and blowing smoke in their direction as they passed.

Cigarette snuffers offered a ready solution to this problem. They provided companies and other organizations with an attractive and appropriate receptacle that smokers could use for ashing and cigarette butt disposal.

These receptacles also enabled businesses to mark off smoking areas in places that were located in more concealed areas behind buildings. Restaurants, hospitals, and stores were able to create smoking areas far removed from their front doors so that second hand smoke no longer entered their buildings.

Due to the fact that an organization may or may not want a cigarette snuffer visible to the non-smoking public, two basic designs are available: post and receptacle. .

The post model consists of a long, hollow pole seated in a large rounded base. In some respects it resembles an urn, which is why it is sometimes referred to as a cigarette urn. The post design looks like a receptacle made especially for cigarette butts.

It is an ideal choice for any organization with a large client base that may have a large percentage of smokers. With the receptacle being as eye-catching and attractive as it is, the organization shows people exactly where they want them to smoke.

Post-style cigarette snuffers are manufactured from many different materials. Some are just metal posts with a hole in the top. Others are more like metal urns. Post-style urns have flat bottoms and convex sides that curve around to the base of the post.

The unit is easily cleaned by removing the post and dumping the contents of the base into a trashcan.

By contrast, the receptacle-design with ashtray on top resembles a trashcan. The ashtray sits over the top of the receptacle, and it can either be filled with sand or left empty to contain extinguished cigarettes.

This model conceals an organization's special accommodation for smokers. While it benefits everyone if businesses do so, it does not look good for family-oriented businesses or any medical facility to make it look like they support smoking.

Receptacle-style cigarette snuffers are made out of metal and are coated with thermoplastic to take a beating from the elements. They are manufactured with pre-drilled holes in their bases so they can be permanently mounted to the sidewalk or patio.