Ballpoint pens in everyday life

Ballpoint pens are ubiquitous in modern culture. While other forms of pen are available, ballpoint pens are certainly the most common and almost every household is likely to have several. The fact that they are cheaply available and convenient to use means they are often to be found on desks and also in pockets, handbags, purses, bags and in cars — almost anywhere where one could conceivably need to use a pen. Ballpoint pens are often provided free by businesses as a form of advertising — printed with a company's name, a ballpoint pen is a relatively low cost advertisement that is highly effective (customers will use, and therefore see, a pen on a daily basis). Businesses and charities may also include ballpoint pens in direct mail mailings in order to increase a customer's interest in the mailing.
In recent years, the ballpoint pen has become a popular art medium. The immediacy of results with little or no preparation compared to many other media such as painting and the relative low price of the pens makes it the medium of choice for many modern artists. Such artists include Juan Francisco Casas and New York–based Lennie Mace. Other artists, like Rezo Kaishauri, use ballpoint pens as part of their mixed technique.
Some people[who?] also create art on themselves with the pens; this is sometimes known as a ballpoint tattoo. Due to this, and to ballpoints widespread use by schoolchildren, all ballpoint ink formulas are non-toxic[10], and the manufacturing and content of the ink is regulated in most countries.