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1) Why visit Oviedo?
2) Oviedo: the facts
3) Oviedo Now!
4) Orientation
5) Walking Tour
6) 4 Things to do for free in Oviedo
7) Accommodation
8) Going Out
9) Things to try and buy
10) Internet
11) Transport
12) Hitchhiking Out
Autonomous community:
Province: Asturias
Population (2012): 225 973
Currency: Euro (€)
Why visit Oviedo?
Many use Oviedo as a base for visiting the nearby UNESCO Pre-Romanesque churches but spend some time in the city itself and you will find an intimate and curious place. The architecture is so unique that in no other place did we find anything similar to the charmingly decorative bay-windows of Oviedo. The old town is a nice change of pace from the devoutness of Santiago away to the west and the industrial grind of the Basque Country to the east. Charmingly, Oviedo feels very familiar; very quickly and last but by no means least, hitchhiking out of Oviedo is not so difficult due to its size and useful bus services.
0 – negative experience 5 – positive experience
Oviedo: the facts
Capital of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain, Oviedo is the commercial and administrative centre of its principality and is home to around 230,000 people. Legend has the city being founded in 761 by two monks who built a church to San Vincent This is, however, disputed as archaeologists have found evident of a Roman settlement dating back to the 1st century. The city first began to take off as the capital of the Asturian kingdom in the early Middle Ages and grew in significance as an important staging post along the Camino de Santiago.
For Asturias, despite remaining the only land unconquered by the Muslims, the golden age soon passed, as the capital moved further south to León , following the Reconquista and the newly conquered lands. The kingdom of Asturias gave way to the kingdom of León which in turn gave way to Castilla and then Spain, as the great land mass slowly solidified and unified.
The city's university was founded in 1600 and the growth in mining and manufacturing during the 19th century brought much needed impetuous back to the region. In 1934 a miners' revolt rocked the city and was harshly repressed by a young General Franco. This, coupled with a month long siege in the early months of the Spanish Civil War, saw much of the old town destroyed.
Today, the gritty Oviedo-Gijόn-Avilés industrial triangle still forms the bedrock of the region's industry to this day. Oviedo's economy relies upon its role as the administrative capital with much of its economy based in the service sector.
Slap bang in the middle of Spain's green belt, Oviedo is, put simply, very wet. It rains all year round but especially in the winter months. It is an Oceanic climate so expect cool summers but relatively mild winters with temperatures ranging from 14 – 23o C (summer) and 4 – 12 o C (winter)
Oviedo Now!
Oviedo has been the inspiration for many Spanish authors and was the basis for the fictional city of Vetusta in Leopoldo Alas' La Regenta. The city was also heavily featured in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
The internationally respected Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias (Asturias Symphony Orchestra) also calls the city home. It, together with the Spanish Lyrical Theatre Festival and Opera Season, helps form the basis of high culture in Oviedo. During the summer months a range of musical concerts and events spring up across the city, including Asturian Folk Music Contests as well as more modern pop and rock performances.
The city's main festival San Mateo takes place in the 3rd week of September and the 19th September sees America Day celebrated with a big procession in honour of Asturian immigrants. The 21st September is the pinnacle of the event when wine and bollu preñau (sausage filled bread) are handed out to the revelers.
Real Oviedo, the city's sole football team has been having a tough time of late and are currently in Liga B. Oviedo also plays host to a lower league basketball team and is a regular stop on the cycling tour Vuelta a España.
Oviedo is a small, compact city and so can be easily visited on foot. Situated at the foot of El Monte Naranco it is surrounded on all sides by green rolling hills and farmland. The city centre is framed by the north-south N364. To the east lie the large out of town shopping centres and city hospital, and to the west the university. The largish city park, Campo de San Francisco, is considered the geographic centre of the city and is a good landmark by which to orientate yourself. The large shop-lined Calle de Uria runs concurrently with the park and ends at the RENFE train station to the north of the historic centre. From the east of the park is the El Casco Antiguo (old town), a warren of smaller, older streets centred around the cathedral of San Salvador.
A good place to start any tour is the RENFE station. A short walk behind the train station on c/ Roberto S. Velázquez are the five remaining archesof the Los Pilares Aquaduct originally built to supply the town with water in the 17th Century. From the RENFE station walk down Calle de Uria passingthe Campo de San Francisco, on you right. This city park contains many interesting sculptures and fountains. Once the gardens of a San Francisco convent, the park is a lovely place for a stroll. On the other side of the park is the La Reconquista Hotel. Originally an 18th century baroque palace, this beautiful building was subsequently used as a hospital and latterly as a rather expensive and prestigious hotel. Also in this area is the Espacio Buenavista shopping centre, well worth visiting just for the crazy architecture alone.
After crossing the shopping district set along Uria, continue straight down Calle de Jesus which leads you deep into the old town. First stop is the Classicist Iglesia de San Isidoro el Real. Built in the 17th century, the sparse and Spartan façade stands nicely in contrast with the luxurious interior. Opposite the church, across Plaza de la Constitución, stands the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall). Built in the 17th century, it was badly damaged during the civil war but has been restored in all its splendour. Very close to the church is another newly renovated, picturesque square Plaza del Fontán, one of the city's more intimate areas.
After taking a moment to enjoy the beautiful Plazas, continue down Plaza del Sol taking a left on Calle de Mon. From here it is only a short climb to the city's cathedral but not before enjoying the sumptuous Palacio de Velarde which houses Oviedo's fine art gallery and exhibits a wide range of works, with an emphasis on Spanish artists.
The jewel in Oviedo's crown is the UNESCO listed Catedral de San Salvador de Oviedo. Built in the Gothic style but with some Baroque flourishes, the sight was home to an older Romanesque church, some features of which still remain today. The cathedral has long been an important part of the Christian tradition in Spain and contains many important relics as well as some of the earliest Christian monarchs who are buried in the Cámara Santa (Holy chamber). The area surrounding the cathedral is particularly pleasant so take some time to enjoy the nearby Testero de San Tirso a much modified but originally 9th century church, the charming Palacio de los Condes de Toreno, and La Rúa Palace an interesting late gothic 15th century building. All are only a short walk from the cathedral.
A quick trip down Calle Canóniga takes you to the remains of The City Wall, a medieval construction whose remaining fragments once formed over 1400m of fortifications. If you follow Calle del Águila, away from the cathedral, you will arrive at Calle de Gascona the self styled 'Bulevar de la Sidra' (Cider Boulevard). This road is packed with cider houses and restaurants and is a nice place for a well-earned rest.
If you would like to visit the UNESCO listed Iglesia de Santa María del Naranco just outside Oviedo you will need to take the number 10 bus from near the train station, on Calle de Uria. Situated 3km away from Oviedo on the slope of Mount Naranco this Pre-Romanesque marvel was originally constructed in the 10th century as a royal palace, but was converted into a church in the 12th century.
4 Things to do for free in Oviedo
Everybody enjoys free things and we here at HitchHikers Handbook are no different. Here are some suggestions for those on a tight budget but still want to get the most out of the city.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias Oviedo's fine arts museum is open Tuesday to Friday (10,30 to 14,00 and 16,30 to 20,30) Saturday (11,30 to 14,00 and 16,30 to 20,00) and Sunday (11,30 to 14,30) and entrance is free, so head on down.
Museo de la Iglesia de Oviedo (Oviedo Church Museum), can be found over the Gothic cloister of the Catedral de San Salvador de Oviedo and contains eight halls displaying a wide variety of religious pieces spanning 1500 years. It is free to enter on Thursday afternoons.
Iglesia de San Julián de los Prados (Church of San Julián de los Prados) is one of the greatest examples of Asturian art and is recognised as such by UNESCO. It is also cheekily free on Mondays.
Don't miss the chance to visit Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo, two stunning Pre-Romanesque, UNESCO world heritage, churches which are also free to enter on Monday mornings.
Oviedo, unfortunately for us penny-pinchers, is lacking in truly wallet friendly accommodation. Unfortunately sometimes it is unavoidable so here below are a couple of the cheapest options available out there:
Pension La Casina is a little out of the centre but offers the cheapest rooms in the city with single rooms (€19) and double rooms (€29). There is also Wi-Fi offered in the on-site café.
Hotel Cityexpress Covadonga located just minutes away from the Cathedral and 'Bulevar de la Sidra' (Cider Boulevard) prices and rooms vary from (€16) three bed private to (€32) single private, prices are higher at the weekends.
Sidra (cider) drinking in Oviedo is an institution. The whole ritual of cider drinking in Asturias is surprisingly intricate, with a waiter pouring the cider from above his head into the glass below, in order to increase and preserve the fizz. However, he pours no more than a mouthful into the glass, which the customer is supposed to drink in one, and return the glass. This circle repeats endlessly. The best place to experience it is on Calle de Gascona. Look out for signs saying "Sidrería" or "Chigre".
The area just south of the university the area known as El Cristo is home to many bars and pubs. Calle del Rosel also has a number of late night bars and is home to a younger crowd and lastly the probable centre of late night Oviedo, Calle de Mon which attracts all sorts from Erasmus students to 30 some-things and is the place most people finish up at the end of night's drinking.
Things to try & buy
Some local specialities include the heavy and filling bean stew Fabada Asturiana is well known all over Spain. There is also a strident local cheese market, like the highly regarded cabrales and for those with a slightly weaker taste preference gamoneu.
It can be tricky to find a centrally located internet café or a bar with wi-fi. If you are looking for free access to the web, check out San Antóni Bar on calle San Antóni (close proximity to the cathedral). Alternatively you can find two or three bars with wi-fi along calle de Fuertes Acevedo.
Oviedo's Airport of Asturias is about 40km outside of the city and offers many domestic and international (mainly Europe) services. There is a bus that connects the airport and city centre bus station, with buses leaving every hour (6.00am – 12.00pm) and the journey taking 40 – 45mins.
The Train station (Av. De Santander) is home to the two train companies that service Oviedo. RENFE runs the León, Madrid and Barcelona lines, with at least one train daily. There are also multiple trains to Gijón. FEVE, located on the upper floor of the train station, cover more local destinations, as well as trains to Santander and Bilbao.
The Bus station (Calle de Pepe Cosmen) is the hub of both nationally and international coach services. The majority of services are organised by ALSA including Madrid, Barcelona and other major Spanish cities. There are also numerous providers of more local lines. More information can be found here
The generally cheap and effective city bus system is run by the TUA with single journey tickets costing less than €1. Must city buses travel down Calle de Uria.
Getting out of Oviedo is relatively easy, as the city is served by multiple motorways and national roads leading off in all directions. To the east, the A-64 to Villaviciosa that connects to the A-8 which continues to Santander and beyond. The A-66 (Autovía Ruta de la Plata) which runs from Gijón in the north, down the spine of Spain, all the way to Seville in the south and to the west the A-63 to La Espina.
Hitchhiking out
A big thanks to all the people on HitchWiki for some of this information. We salute you!
North & West towards Santiago de Compostela
The N-634, which runs near the University in the east, provides good access to the A-63 for those wanting to go west towards Galicia. To get there from the centre is a 20 – 25 minute walk. From the edge of the park take Av. De Galicia, walk up the hill, crossing the roundabout, after a short while the road changes name to Calle de Fuertes Acevado, but not direction. After passing the university on the left there is a hotel on the right when the houses start to thin out. We hitchhiked from the hotel entrance and it took about 15 minutes to get a ride.
South towards León
Access to the A-66 (Autovía Ruta de la Plata) which heads towards Leon can be quite tricky. Av. De León, to the south of the old town, does offer access but it can be problematic due to lack of cars and position. There is a motorway service station a further 2km along the motorway (it is signposted), but be careful about reaching it and remember it is illegal to hitchhike on Autovías (motorways) in Spain.
written by: Jon
Spain's Absolute Musts Spain: hitch-hiker's essentials
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Review analysis
This entry is our analysis of a review or synthesis of research findings considered particularly relevant to improving outcomes from drug or alcohol interventions in the UK. The original review was not published by Findings; click Title to order a copy. Free reprints may be available from the authors – click prepared e-mail. The summary conveys the findings and views expressed in the review. Below is a commentary from Drug and Alcohol Findings.
Evidence for the effectiveness of minimum pricing of alcohol: a systematic review and assessment using the Bradford Hill criteria for causality
https://findings.org.uk/PHP/dl.php?file=Boniface_S_2.txt&s=dy&sf=sfnos
Evidence for the effectiveness of minimum pricing of alcohol: a systematic review and assessment using the Bradford Hill criteria for causality.
Boniface S., Scannell J.W., Marlow S.
BMJ Open: 2017, 7(e013497).
Unable to obtain a copy by clicking title? Try asking the author for a reprint by adapting this prepared e-mail or by writing to Dr Boniface at sadie.boniface@kcl.ac.uk.
Unable to draw on evidence from 'gold standard' randomised controlled trials, this review used nine criteria to assess the effect of minimum unit pricing – finding on balance that setting a minimum price per unit of alcohol was likely to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.
Summary Minimum unit pricing is one of many policies and programmes aiming to reduce the harms of alcohol, the most notable application of it in Canada where a variety of types of minimum pricing are in operation.
This paper reviewed evidence for price-based alcohol policy interventions to determine whether minimum unit pricing would likely be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.
The conclusion was that it is highly probable, but not certain, that introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol would have the desired impact.
However, questions remain unanswered about minimum unit pricing. Scotland implementing the policy would give further scope to test its effectiveness.
In light of ongoing consideration of minimum unit pricing in the UK (unfold supplementary text for the status of discussions at the time the article was written and published; see Commentary below for further developments), this paper reviewed the evidence for price-based alcohol policy interventions to determine whether minimum unit pricing is likely to be effective.
In 2012, the UK coalition government cited support for minimum unit pricing in its alcohol strategy, and legislation to have a minimum price of £0.50 per unit was passed in Scotland the same year. In Scotland, the Scotch Whisky Association challenged the 2012 legislation in the Scottish Court of Session, which referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2014. In late 2015, the case was referred back to the Scottish courts to investigate whether the same objective could be met through increased taxation, which could have implications for other EU countries considering minimum unit pricing. In late 2016, the Scottish Court of Session ruled that minimum unit pricing does not contravene EU law, however, the Scotch Whisky Association then appealed to the UK Supreme Court.
Of 517 studies identified, 33 studies were assessed – 26 peer-reviewed research studies, and seven from 'grey' literature (non-academic sources, such as organisations and governments). No randomised controlled trials testing the outcomes of minimum pricing or price-based interventions were found.
Nine criteria proposed by Sir Austin Bradford Hill in 1965 [see original paper], and subsequently referred to as the 'Bradford Hill criteria', provided the framework for assessing the impact of the interventions in this review. [What each criterion means is described below.]
Criteria one: Strength of the association
Whether there is a statistically significant improvement in level of alcohol consumption or alcohol-related harms.
Overall, there was reasonably good support for this criterion, but not from grey literature. Studies in Canada found that 10% increases in minimum prices were associated with reductions in alcohol consumption of 3.4–8.4%, in alcohol-attributable hospital admissions of 9%, and in alcohol-related mortality of 32% – each statistically significant. Observational studies in the UK, Ireland, Australia and one trial from the US found statistically significant associations between cheaper alcohol and heavier drinking. The magnitude of the association varied across these studies, and due to different study measures and outcomes, the results were not all comparable.
Criteria two: Consistency
Whether different studies conducted in different locations, in different populations, by different investigators, and at different times reported similar findings.
Support for the consistency criterion was very strong. Inverse associations between alcohol pricing and alcohol consumption or harm have been documented in countries in Europe, North America and Australia.
Criteria three: Specificity
If pricing was the only reason that alcohol consumption or alcohol-related harm could have fallen.
Support for the specificity criteria was very strong. Many of the reviewed studies which assessed real-world changes in price and drink-related outcomes statistically adjusted for other influences, but the best support for the specificity criterion came from 'modelling' studies. Rather than observing real-world changes, these aimed to predict changes using mathematical models free from the extraneous influences which confuse observational studies. The Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model [see website] is one such model and has been applied in England Scotland and Canada and provided very strong support for the specificity criterion. Further support was provided by other different modelling studies in the UK and Australia and a (non-randomised) trial in the US.
Criteria four: Temporality
Attributing or associating a change in alcohol consumption or harm to a pricing intervention, only when an intervention takes place before the change is observed.
Overall, there was very strong support for the temporality criterion. Strong support for this criterion came from research following the introduction of minimum unit pricing in Canada, where minimum price increases preceded reductions in alcohol consumption, alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and alcohol-related mortality. Studies where price changes preceded the expected changes in alcohol consumption or harm were also conducted in Russia, Poland and Finland.
Criteria five: Dose–response
If interventions leading to a larger increase in prices have a greater effect on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm than interventions where the price change was small, or if studies demonstrate that different minimum prices have differing effects.
Overall, there was strong support for the dose–response criterion, although the relationship was difficult to quantify. Many of the studies using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model explored the impact of a range of potential minimum unit pricing options and these consistently suggested that the higher the minimum unit pricing the greater the reductions in alcohol consumption or alcohol-related harms. The Canadian studies of minimum pricing lent further support.
Criteria six: Plausibility
Whether there is evidence that alcohol price can be used as an economic mechanism to influence consumption at a population level, and whether heavy drinkers tend to purchase cheaper alcohol.
There was strong support for the plausibility criterion. There was evidence from 21 of 26 research studies and four of seven studies in the grey literature that the price of alcohol was inversely related to alcohol-related morbidity, hospital admissions or mortality. There was evidence from numerous observational studies in the UK, Ireland, and Australia and one trial from the US that heavier drinking was significantly associated with purchasing alcohol below specified prices, further suggesting that economic mechanisms such as minimum pricing would particularly affect the heaviest drinkers.
Criteria seven: Coherence
Whether studies conducted in different settings or disciplines have complementary findings; not demonstrated by a single study in isolation but rather the evidence base as a whole.
Overall, the evidence base provided strong support for this criterion. The findings of the majority of studies suggested that real-world minimum unit pricing or minimum price increases led to reductions in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. Surveys found that it was the heavier drinkers that were drinking the cheapest alcohol. The modelling studies which used survey data suggested that heavier drinkers would be most affected by minimum unit pricing.
Criteria eight: Experiment
In addition to laboratory studies and randomised controlled trials, natural experiments with before-and-after measures could also show the effectiveness of minimum unit pricing in a 'real-world' setting.
There was tentative support for the experiment criterion. No randomised controlled trials could be identified of minimum unit pricing or price-based interventions to reduce alcohol consumption. There was, however, substantial evidence in support of the criterion from natural experiments and analyses of data collected at several points over time.
Criteria nine: Analogy
Identifying similar associations or causal relationships in other relevant areas, such as whether higher taxation on alcohol is associated with reduced alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm.
Overall, the support for this criterion was very strong, although it provided the weakest evidence of the nine criteria for causality. There was evidence that consumption and harm are very responsive to the affordability of alcohol. Large systematic reviews have found that higher alcohol pricing and taxation (considered together) are associated with reductions in alcohol consumption, alcohol-related disease and mortality.
This comprehensive review of a disparate evidence base investigated whether minimum unit pricing of alcohol is likely to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm.
All nine of the Bradford Hill criteria for determining causality were met, and the vast majority of studies offered support for price-based alcohol policy interventions. However, the evidence for two of the criteria that can provide the strongest evidence for causality (strength of the association, and experiment) was not as strong as others.
The conclusion was therefore that it is highly probable, but not certain, that introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol would reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.
Unanswered questions about the effectiveness of minimum unit pricing remain. There may be opportunities to explore this in countries such as Scotland if/when minimum unit pricing is implemented. If Scotland were to implement minimum unit pricing, then it would be possible to: evaluate the validity of the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model studies (1 2 3 4 5) using Scottish data; and to conduct a longitudinal study to evaluate the effectiveness of minimum unit pricing.
commentary Unable to draw on evidence from randomised controlled trials – considered the 'gold standard' in research – this review applied nine criteria to the evidence base to assess the degree of confidence we can have in the expectation that minimum unit pricing will have an effect on drinking and related harm. On balance, it found that it was likely that introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol would reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.
The review could not, however, reach a definite verdict due to the lack of conclusive evidence from rigorous trials. In 2013, it was the "absence" of "empirical" and "conclusive" evidence that purportedly persuaded the Home Secretary that "it would be a mistake" to implement minimum pricing in the UK. However, the previous year, when presumably the evidence had been no more conclusive and empirical, the government had pledged their commitment to a uniform minimum price per unit (about 8g) of alcohol across all drinks, substantially raising the cost of cheaper and stronger products.
An Effectiveness bank hot topic covered this U-turn, discussing how what one year may be judged a sufficiently robust platform for radical action may the next be pronounced too flimsy. Even whether the evidence needs to be conclusive – or whether uncertainty can be tolerated – is a judgement which too can change.
Approaches to alcohol policy differ widely across the UK. Scottish policy appears to be most closely aligned with evidence-based recommendations, framing alcohol as a whole population issue, in contrast with UK government policy which is influenced to a greater extent by prevailing beliefs about personal responsibility for alcohol issues.
After five years' opposition from the Scotch Whisky Association, in November 2017 the UK supreme court backed the Scottish government's plans to introduce a minimum price for all alcoholic drinks, its seven judges agreeing unanimously that it was "a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim". The Scottish Government subsequently implemented its original plans to set a £0.50 minimum price in May 2018. As of June 2018, legislation allowing for a minimum price per unit of alcohol has been approved in Wales, with a public consultation expected by the end of the year on what the minimum price should be.
Drinks industry actors such as the Scotch Whisky Association overwhelmingly oppose whole population approaches for curbing drinking and alcohol-related harms, claiming they are 'blunt instruments' which fail to address the real policy problems and have unintended negative consequences. On minimum unit pricing, common objections from the drinks industry are that it is ineffective, illegal and counterproductive, and that it unfairly targets moderate and less wealthy drinkers.
The Effectiveness Bank examines the research and policy context for minimum unit pricing.
Last revised 01 August 2018. First uploaded 20 July 2018
STUDY 2017 The impacts of minimum alcohol pricing on alcohol attributable morbidity in regions of British Colombia, Canada with low, medium and high mean family income
REVIEW 2016 A rapid evidence review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alcohol control policies: an English perspective
STUDY 2016 Monitoring and evaluating Scotland's alcohol strategy: Final annual report
STUDY 2016 Model-based appraisal of the comparative impact of minimum unit pricing and taxation policies in Scotland
STUDY 2009 Model-based appraisal of alcohol minimum pricing and off-licensed trade discount bans in Scotland
STUDY 2014 Model-based appraisal of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Wales
STUDY 2008 Independent review of the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion
STUDY 2014 Monitoring and evaluating Scotland's alcohol strategy. Fourth annual report
HOT TOPIC 2015 A minimum price for drink?
REVIEW 2008 Identifying cost-effective interventions to reduce the burden of harm associated with alcohol misuse in Australia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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JackTales
Stories and blather by Jack
Cult of The Pipe WebRing
Posts tagged 'tobacco'
Make-your-own-cigarette stores are popping up all over South Florida. But will new regulations stub out the trend before it truly ignites?
by Colleen Dougher
2:22 PM EDT, August 22, 2011
Tobacco Factory manager Jonathan Silva (photos by Colleen Dougher)
Given all the people who've quit smoking and the rising cost of cigarettes in an already tough economy, it's surprising to see businesses opening throughout South Florida with names such as Miami Smokes, Cigarette Station, Ciggy Mart and Tobacco Factory. These new stores, which offer an alternative to smokers tired of forking over $66 for a carton of cigarettes, allow customers to make their own cigarettes for as little as $19 for the equivalent of a carton.
Cigarette manufacturers must obtain a license and pay hefty fees and taxes, including a federal excise tax of $1.01 per pack of cigarettes. But those people who make cigarettes for personal use are not, for tax purposes, considered manufacturers. The shops opening in South Florida and around the nation help smokers take advantage of that personal-use exemption. Their customers can make cigarettes using a hand-cranked device that takes 90 minutes to produce the equivalent of a carton; an electric tabletop machine estimated to take up to 35 minutes; and RYO Machine Rental's RYO Filling Station. This last machine weighs more than 700 pounds and can churn out 200 cigarettes in eight minutes. The owners of Golden Smokes in Hollywood and Flat Out Smokes in Fort Lauderdale claim their stores will soon open with machines that work twice as fast as RYO Filling Stations.
These stores plan to sell tobacco, cigarette tubes and smoking accessories, and to offer verbal instructions on how to operate the machines. "We, as a retailer, are not allowed to put the tobacco in the machine or touch the tubes," says Rick Stevens, of Golden Smokes. "It's completely up to the customer."
Stevens will use a chart to replicate a customer's favorite brand of cigarette. "If they smoke Marlboro Light but want it a little more bold, we can adjust that," he says. "So I'm looking at it more like a connoisseur."
He says the tobacco is grown in America and free of chemicals, additives and the steep federal tax that was levied on "roll-your-own tobacco" two years ago. Before the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009, the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes was 39 cents, and roll-your-own and pipe tobacco were taxed $1.09 per pound. But the act increased the per-pack federal excise tax to $1.01 and raised the tax on roll-your-own tobacco to $24.78 a pound. The tax on pipe tobacco went up to $2.83-per-pound. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) acknowledges that the disparity between the two tax rates created a reason for people to use pipe tobacco rather ¿than roll-your-own when making their own cigarettes. The agency also has noted that no regulatory standard, other than some statutory definitions, differentiates the two products.
Pipe tobacco has become the key ingredient at shops that are appearing in South Florida at roughly the same rate as Wells Fargo bank buildings. The Wall Street Journal reported that in the 14 months following the federal tax placed on rolling tobacco, pipe tobacco sales in the United States tripled.
While many smokers appear to love the shops, tobacco companies, anti-smoking proponents and government officials are less receptive to them. In Arkansas, the shops prompted a law that banned the use of in-store commercial rolling machines starting in 2012. And in September 2010, the TTB announced that retail establishments using commercial cigarettemaking machines would be considered manufacturers under the Internal Revenue Code. By that time, David Rienzo, the assistant attorney general of New Hampshire, had sued two roll-your-own shops, arguing that companies using commercial rolling machines — some of which he said are marketed as "typically providing a whopping 300 percent return on investment in the first year" — are profiting from cigarettes being made in their stores, and therefore are manufacturers subject to fees and taxes.
Phil Accordino, an owner of the Ohio-based RYO Machine Rental, which claims to have more than 1,000 RYO Filling Station machines in 35 states, including Florida, has argued that allowing customers to use such machines does not make a shop owner a manufacturer any more than a grocery store becomes a coffee manufacturer by letting customers grind beans. Accordino contested the TTB's ruling and was granted a preliminary injunction allowing stores using his machines to continue operating — at least for now. After Michigan's Treasury Department subsequently advised 300 shops that it considered them to be manufacturers, RYO sought and won another preliminary injunction in an Ohio court. That decision is reportedly being appealed in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
As legal matters surrounding rolling machines continue wending through the courts, the TTB is evaluating how to distinguish pipe tobacco from roll-your-own and has stated that its findings may lead to new rule proposals. Meanwhile, the roll-your-own smoke shop trend marches on. Smokers want cheaper cigarettes and more alternatives, and people who provide a means for them to achieve that goal stand to profit.
Ciggy Mart, which opened last month in Palmetto Bay and soon will open another store in Miami, invites customers to "avoid paying federal manufacturing excise taxes" by making cigarettes from a variety of "all-natural and chemical-free tobacco" from the fields of North Carolina. General manager Scott Acker says customers can produce cartons using three options that take anywhere from eight to 90 minutes to complete and cost from $19.90 to $27.90.
Cigarette Station, which opened stores in Hialeah and Homestead and is planning six more, also offers several options, including the RYO Filling Station. Josh Gimelstein, who owns the business with his two brothers, says their father was a cigar and cigarette manufacturer and that their 86-year-old grandmother still works daily at Zelick's Tobacco Corporation, her store on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
Roll-your-own shops are as much about offering natural tobacco as they are about affordability, says Gimelstein, whose prices begin at $21.99 a carton. "You're going back to an era when people rolled their own, before they started adding horrible chemicals to their tobacco," he says. In addition to pipe tobacco, Gimelstein plans to sell certified organic tobacco.
While he acknowledges that cigarettes are unhealthy, he says his goal is to allow customers to choose the best possible tobacco within their budgets. He says the concept has been warmly received, and the Hialeah store is selling more than 30 cartons a day just seven weeks after opening.
Stevens, of Golden Smokes, says he and partners Same Yorlendis and Tim Foran, all of whom work together at a Fort Lauderdale company that sells marine-waste-management systems, are anxious to open their shop. So is their co-worker Bill Demler, who will open Flat Out Smokes with partner Colleen Shobert.
These co-workers became interested in the roll-your-own concept after their general manager opened a store in Washington state. Within six weeks, Stevens says, the store was selling 65 cartons a day. Stevens and his partners approached RYO Smoke Smart about purchasing a $5,000 territory and two $25,000 rolling machines. Stevens says the $5,000 will ensure RYO Smoke Smart will not sell another machine in his territory, which he says is about five square miles. Demler and Shobert struck a similar deal and have decorated their shop with a Key West-style theme. Both shops planned to open in early June. But the machines have yet to arrive from RYO Smoke Smart, which Stevens says has experienced "manufacturing delay after manufacturing delay."
Corey Fischer, the president and CEO of RYO Smoke Smart, didn't return City Link's phone calls, but Golden Smokes and Flat Out Smokes are scheduled to open Sept. 5. "Our machines are to be delivered the week prior," Stevens says. "We're keeping our fingers crossed."
Jonathan Silva, the manager of Tobacco Factory, doesn't need superfast machines at his shop in a Pompano Beach strip mall. The former signmaker owns several electric tabletop devices estimated to produce a carton's worth of cigarettes in 20 minutes. Customers load the tobacco, insert a tube, push a button, hear a whir, remove their cigarette, and repeat the process until they're finished. In addition to tobacco and cigarette tubes, Silva plans to stock hookahs, cigars, packaged cigarettes, rolling papers and other smoking needs. He'll also sell coffee and bowls of yuca soup from an old family recipe.
His Fresh Choice machines don't promise a carton in four minutes, or even eight, but they also weren't a $25,000 investment. Fresh Choice sells its machines for $499; Silva sells them for only a dollar more. "They're household items," he says. "You can put them in a house, buy the tobacco from us and roll your own."
Charging $2.83 a pack and $18.87 a carton, Silva isn't worried about competition from stores that use faster machines. "I tell everybody, 'We have more time than money nowadays,' " he says. "If it's going to take a little longer, and you're gonna save the money you have, it's a big deal."
By using Fresh Choice machines, Silva's business may escape the federal scrutiny faced by his competitors, who are wondering how long they'll be able to keep things rolling. It seems their ability to continue connecting smokers with a faster means to make less-expensive cigarettes will be decided by the courts.
Flat Out Smokes' Demler says he initially was concerned about potential rulings, but after conducting some research, he felt confident enough to venture into the business. "Something might come along down the road," he says. "But what it is, I think, is, 'Just get into the business, try to make your money and if it happens, it happens.' "
Contact Colleen Dougher at cdougher@citylinkmagazine.com.
Tags: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009, Florida, roll-your-own, RYO, tax, tobacco
Category: Pipe Smoking | Comment
Death of a Tobacco Pouch
Okay, other than the time that I lost a tobacco pouch in a parking lot somewhere, I've had a tragedy occur in my little pouch family.
I had a rollup pouch that I love, with a latex lining. Well, a few tears were starting to show up in the latex, so I shelved my beloved pouch and bought a replacements. Actually, I bought several replacements, because they seemed to keep getting smaller and harder to open.
Finally, annoyed, I resurrected the rollup pouch. Our relationship resumed where it left off. Me stuffing it until it looked like a giant burrito.
Over the past week, things between us have gotten weird. I'd dip in the pouch for tobacco, and it would be empty. But I could feel it in there somewhere. Shrugging, I just kept refilling it.
Today my pouch ran dry, and the lump in it had just gotten larger. I got out a bright desk light, and investigated. Turns out one of the tears in the latex had grown, and the pouch had been hiding the tobacco behind the pouch, and it was almost impossible to get to easily.
I carefully dug out all the tobacco that seemed to be in it, then pulled out the latex. Well, guess I didn't get all the tobacco out of it, as tobacco went flying everywhere. That's it. My special relationship with my giant burrito of a pouch is officially over. I may dump the corpse in a ravine.
Anyway, it's hard to start dating again…er, I mean finding a replacement pouch without fondling each one to see how deep and wide it is. Hmm…this is sounding more pornographic by the moment. So…do you guys have any suggestions? Need a pouch that can hold a lot of tobacco, I can still jam into a pocket regardless if it makes my ass look like it has mumps, and won't cheat on me. Forget that last part, but you get the idea.
Tags: pouch, tobacco
Fumando Pipa (Pipe Smoking)
And for no particular reason…
…I have absolutely no idea of what she's saying, but she's easy on the eyes.
Tags: argentina, fetish, Fumando Pipa, pretty girl, smoking pipe, tabaco, tobacco, video
Democratic proposal outrages puffers
By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item
SUNBURY –
Valley smokers are incensed at two congressional Democrats' proposal to increase the tax on pipe tobacco a whopping 775 percent.
Buck Reibsame smokes a pipe in his office at home near Selinsgrove. Robert Inglis/The Daily Item
Ron Rothermel, of Sunbury, is among Valley pipe smokers outraged by the plan to raise the tax from $2.8311 per pound to $24.78 per pound — the same rate that is imposed on roll-your-own tobacco products.
Many Valley smokers saw an opportunity to save money by buying special blends of pipe tobacco to make their own cigarettes after a higher roll-your-own tobacco products tax took effect last year.
"I smoke cigarettes and occasionally pipes," Rothermel said. "I wish I hadn't started smoking, but I did, and I resent the government's actions. I feel they are picking on a certain class of people and taxing that class. The proposed tax is ridiculously high. It certainly could affect whether I buy pipe tobacco in the future.
"If this tax passes," he fumed, "what's next? Since excessive intake of sugar is unhealthy and leads to obesity, will they tax sugar? And what about fried foods? Are they going to tax french fries?"
Where is it all going to stop? Rothermel asked.
The widespread anger is a reaction to House Resolution 4439, or the Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010, introduced by U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen, of Tennesee, and Lloyd Doggett, of Texas.
Cohen, reached Friday in Washington, D.C., said the idea for his bill originated last year, after passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Bill, which increased tobacco taxes to provide tens of millions of America's children with health insurance.
Since its creation in 1997, CHIP has been funded through revenue generated by federal tobacco taxes.
As part of the CHIP law, roll-your-own tobacco is taxed at a $1.54 an ounce, while pipe tobacco — the exact same product — is taxed at 17 cents an ounce, Cohen said.
"Higher cigarette taxes have proven to be an effective way to discourage children from smoking," Cohen said. "However, it was only weeks after President Obama signed the Children's Health Insurance Program into law that the tobacco industry figured out a way to exploit a loophole in the bill that endangers the health of children.
"Roll-your-own tobacco has historically been a small part of the cigarette industry," Cohen said, but "the exploitation of this loophole enabled roll-your-own tobacco to capture an increasingly large portion of the market. Further exploitation of this loophole has the potential to cost the government more than $30 million a month in lost revenue."
Instead of folding in the face of high taxes, tobacco companies quickly responded to the roll-your-own tax increase by all but shutting down those brands and reinventing them under a less-taxed category — pipe tobacco.
The tax? About a tenth of roll-your-own tobacco, at $2.83 per pound.
Smokers of pipes and cigarettes responded by buying up pipe tobacco.
Roll-your-own brands disappeared overnight, replaced with pipe tobacco brands carrying the same names.
Tobacco companies on their Web sites said they were just trying to find a legal way to stay afloat after being saddled with an enormous tax increase.
This, Cohen said, is why he introduced the bill, which is now in the House Ways and Means Committee.
House Resolution 4439 has not yet been scheduled for a floor vote, and may not be, said Josh Drobnyk, an aide to U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-10, of Dimock.
After all, there is only one co-sponsor.
Of the legislation, Carney said: "I am focused on measures that will improve our economy and ease — not increase — the tax burden on our working families during these tough economic times."
The tax burden is the point of contention, pipe tobacco users said.
If the bill passes, taxes on tobacco — sold both by the gram and by the ounce — would rise to:
$2.43 per 50 grams
$2.74 per 2 ounces
$10.98 per 8 ounces
$24.78 per 16 ounces
These costs would be in addition to the price pipe smokers pay for those amounts of pipe tobacco. For example, with the average price of a 100-gram tin of McClelland Frog Morton about $13.20, the new price would be $18.06.
Government manipulating us, smokers charge
Buck Reibsame, of Selinsgrove, is steamed about the proposed hikes, as are many of his friends.
"I wouldn't mind a fair tax, with maybe a 6 to 7 percent hike, but this one, if passed, would be outrageous," he said Thursday.
"I've been smoking for about 40 years and I've never seen such an attack on a group of people like this one. If those politicians want to do something to raise revenues, how about cutting back on their perks?"
The government, added long-time smoker Jon McLaughlin, of Selinsgrove, is trying to legislate how he lives through tax manipulation.
"Last year they went after roll-your-own smokers," said McLaughlin, a smoker for 41 years. "This year, they're going after anything and everyone. It's just about raising money. It's always about money."
What and who is to benefit from the tax increase? asked Bill Jennings, of Lewisburg.
"Don't people in Congress have much more important things to worry about? And what could possibly be their justification for a tax amount of $24.78 per pound on something that often doesn't cost that much to begin with?" he asked, and paused for a second. "Oh yeah, I get it. This tax is intended to make it so only the wealthiest can smoke pipes. Well how about that? Come on legislators. Be serious."
Jennifer, a worker at a local smoke shop, who asked that her surname not be used, said she switched to pipe tobacco, instead of roll-you-own, and began rolling it into cigarettes. "The price was worth it," she said. "And taste-wise, I didn't find much difference."
Now, she may have no choice but to pay higher prices.
Pipe tobacco is nominally coarser and somewhat moister than most blends of cigarette tobacco. But there are no regulations that say it has to be that way. The federal government says the only difference between the two is how the two tobaccos are labeled.
"The bill punishes pipe smokers and retail tobacconists," said Jonah Johnstone, a smoker from Selinsgrove. Johnstone thinks this is nothing more than an attempt to rope in more taxes from roll-your-own cigarette tobacco re-labeled as pipe tobacco.
A tax increase of 775 percent on anything is ludicrous, Johnstone said.
"It could conceivably destroy an industry of pipe craftsmen, small farmers, tobacco blenders and retailers."
A heavy hit for retailers and producers
"If this law passes, it could hurt out business a lot," said Michelle Longenberger, an employee at Puff Discount, in Sunbury.
Pipe tobacco represents 30 to 40 percent of the shop's business, Longenberger said.
"We sell everything from small pouches of tobacco, for 94 cents, to larger cans, for $16. Most customers who buy are simply rolling their own cigarettes. It's what I do. You can roll a fair number for less than $2 total. Of course, that would all change if taxes were raised to the proposed levels.
"I really hope the bill doesn't pass."
Copyright © 1999-2010 cnhi, inc.
You know, I consider myself somewhat liberal, but I have to tell you, nothing would make me happier than lynching these two representatives.
Tags: 775%, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Bill, House Resolution 4439, Lloyd Doggett, pennsylvania, roll-your-own, Steve Cohen, Sunbury, tax, tobacco, Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010
Category: Pipe Smoking | 1 Comment
Holy Jumpin' Jesus! Stop a 775% Tax Increase on Pipe Tobacco!
H.R. 4439, the Tobacco Tax Parity Act of 2010 was introduced on January 13, 2010 and would raise the tax on pipe tobacco 775% from $2.8311 to $24.78 per pound.
As a service to the pipe smoking community and the industry of pipe makers and pipe tobacco producers we have set up a free service that will automatically send emails to your Senators and Congressmen.
In 15 seconds – Email Your Senators and Congressmen for FREE
Stop a 775% Tax Increase on Pipe Tobacco!
– We have already typed the letter for you. The system does everything. Just enter your address, we find the right contacts and send them your opposition to the tax increase.
– You can add your own comments too!
– Really make an impact by having a real letter printed on paper and hand-delivered. (This cost $3 per letter and is optional. You are given the choice at the end.)
A tax increase of 775% on anything is ludicrous. This will kill many small businesses and an historical tradition.
Download the bill here
Tags: 775%, Congressmen, email, H.R. 4439, pipe, Senators, tax, tobacco
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We're headed to Mars, but what will life be like on the red planet?
FOX 7 Austin
LOS ANGELES - Are you ready to live on Mars? Well, if you're up for it, that could be a reality as soon as 2025. But could you afford it? Could anyone? With current technology, a flight to Mars would cost about $10 billion. Do you have that much put away in your vacation fund?
According to Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk, who is leading the initiative, flights in the near future will cost the same as the average American home, about $200,000.
OK, so now you're on Mars. What is there to do? Robert Zubrin, an aerospace engineer and president of the Mars Society, says that, "settling on Mars would be very similar to when the Europeans settled in America."
Fortune.com states there are companies already investing in mining projects, like Planetary Resources, who suggest there may be $50 billion worth of platinum on minable asteroids.
Mars will also need inventors to create tools that solve new problems, farmers to grow crops, teachers to teach the young, and someone who is really good at logistics to make this all work.
If Musk is sure about one thing, it's "jobs will not be in short supply."


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Just words? Ed Miliband and the the Anne Frank Declaration
Recently Ed Miliband, along with all other members of the Shadow Cabinet, including Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander, signed the Anne Frank Declaration:
Anne Frank is a symbol of the millions of innocent children who have been victims of persecution. Anne's life shows us what can happen when prejudice and hatred go unchallenged.
Because prejudice and hatred harm us all, I declare that:
I will stand up for what is right and speak out against what is unfair and wrong
I will try to defend those who cannot defend themselves
I will strive for a world in which our differences will make no difference – a world in which everyone is treated fairly and has an equal chance in life
Since then, Ed Miliband has been talking about his August 2013 decision to block joint UK-US action in response to the Assad regime's mass killing of civilians with Sarin chemical weapons. He said that this choice proves he is "tough enough" to be prime minister: "Hell yes." Many of his supporters seem to agree, and "Hell yes" t-shirts have been produced, celebrating Ed Miliband's toughness in helping get a mass-murdering regime off the hook.
Not that they see it in quite that way. Jamie Glackin, Chair of Scottish Labour, denied that there was any connection between Ed Miliband's "hell yes" phrase and the August 2013 chemical attack: "It's got nothing to do with that. At all."
But it has everything to do with that. Ed Miliband's chosen anecdote to show toughness was to point to the time he prevented action against a mass-murdering dictatorship, one that gave refuge to a key Nazi war criminal, that has tortured its citizens on an industrial scale, that is inflicting starvation sieges on hundreds of thousands of people, that has driven half of the population from their homes, four million of them driven out of the country as refugees, and that has continued killing civilians in their tens of thousands since Ed Miliband said "no" to action.
Anne's life shows us what can happen when prejudice and hatred go unchallenged.
When asked about the consequent events in Syria, Ed Miliband shirked responsibility. "It's a failure of the international community," he said. But we are the international community. The UK is a key member of the international community, one of only five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and one of only three functioning democracies amongst those five. When Ed Miliband blocked UK action, the consequences were critical.
I will try to defend those who cannot defend themselves.
Anne Frank was 15 when she was killed in the Holocaust. The Anne Frank Trust is holding a #notsilent campaign to mark the 70th Anniversary of her murder on the 14th of April. You can also read more about her at the Anne Frank House museum's website.
According to a November 2013 report by the Oxford Research Group, Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria, 128 children were recorded amongst the killed in the Ghouta chemical attack: 65 girls and 63 boys.
Something of two of those girls, Fatima Ghorra, three years old, and her sister, Hiba Ghorra, four years old, is told by Hisham Ashkar here.
The names of 54 of the girls killed are listed by the Violations Documentation Center in Syria. For some, clicking on a name will give a little more information, such as a photograph of one in life, or in death, or their age.
Just words? Ed Miliband and the the Anne Frank Dec...
Washington DC Friday: Rally to Stop the Bombs in S...
A call from Planet Syria: Is anybody out there?
Support Syria Civil Defence: Write to your MP
Syria Civil Defence 'White Helmets' call for No-Fl...
Four years is too long
Comparing Syria to DR Congo
Syrians first called for a No-Fly Zone in October ...
London 4th Anniversary Syria demonstration calls f...


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Derriford Hospital
What it's like to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
Jude Lavis, 18 months, Evie Rose Moore, 11, and Dave Culip, 67 all suffer from the autoimmune condition
Katie TimmsReporter
Type 1 diabetes can affect any person regardless of age and is a lifelong condition that has a large impact on life.
Jude Lavis, Evie Rose Moore and Dave Culip are all people who go through the daily struggle of their immune system attacking and destroying cells in their pancreas that produce insulin.
The autoimmune condition cannot be prevented, despite common misconceptions of the condition being caused by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle, and doctors have not yet figured out why this happens.
Only 10 per cent of people diagnosed with the condition have family members with Type 1 diabetes even though family members may carry the same gene which caused them to develop the condition.
The overall risk of the condition is generally quite low.
Jude Lavis, aged 18 months
Eighteen-month-old Jude Lavis is in the 10 per cent category as his older cousin, Evie Rose Moore also suffers from the condition.
Jude and mum Nicole
Evie Rose was first diagnosed four years ago when she was just seven years old, and Jude's mum, Nicole said that her diagnosis helped to spot the signs for Jude and gives both families a large support system.
Jude was diagnosed at just 13-months-old and both of his parents who are nurses were able to test his urine at home, which gave them a diagnosis straight away.
Nicole Lavis said: "He was admitted to hospital but luckily we caught it really early. If not caught early the condition can be fatal with DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis).
"Jude has shown such resilience, adapting to this new life easily. It is however totally life changing for us all, extremely challenging and tiring.
"The fact that Jude cannot tell us how he feels is so challenging as we are always anxious that he is either too high or too low, especially when he sleeps."
"We try to maintain a normal lifestyle as Jude has a three year old brother, Samuel. We don't want all the attention being on Jude all of the time."
Plymouth mums share their stories of having children with autism
Nicole, like many others who live and have family members with type 1 diabetes was keen to highlight that there is a difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
She added: "Jude had the healthiest start to life, I breastfed for nine months and he had a healthy diet.
Evie and cousin Jude
"This however didn't matter has he was always predisposed to getting type 1. Type 2 diabetes tends to be a lifestyle induced metabolic disorder."
The mum of two said that diabetes sufferers should "take each day as it comes" and not to "beat yourselves up".
She continued: "Talk to people, use friends and family, as you need as much support as you can get. To be honest though, we probably still need lots of advice as we are still in the early stages of diagnosis.
"We are yet to fully get our heads around it."
Nicole has to test Jude's blood sugar levels every two hours and has to make sure that she has snacks and treatments available if she needs to stabilise his blood sugar. They also have to weigh everything that Jude eats that includes carbohydrates to input in his pump which calculates the insulin doses.
Evie Rose aged 11
Evie Rose, Jude's cousin was diagnosed at age seven when she became ill for a short while and was showing all the tell-tale symptoms which include:
Going to the toilet a lot, especially at night
Being really thirsty
Feeling more tired than usual
Losing weight without trying to
Genital itching or thrush
Cuts and wounds take longer to heal
Evie's mum, Becky Moore started Plymouth Sugar Zappers Diabetes UK after feeling "isolated and overwhelmed" with their new lifestyle and routine.
Evie Rose and mum Becky Moore
Becky said: "A few parents and grandparents got together and with the support from Diabetes UK, set up the group so that we can share experiences.
"It has been great to know we are not alone in this and that other children and families and people with diabetes face the same challenges. It has been useful to hear others ideas of how they deal with different situations, which have helped us in Evie's diabetes care."
Life for the Moore's changed instantly and they suddenly were faced with challenges and new routines to learn in a very short space of time.
They had to stay in the hospital until they could properly and confidently test Evie's blood levels, which need to be done between six and eight times a day. As well as issue insulin injections, which has to be done every time Evie eats anything.
Evie's school also had to have training on how to care for her in case her bloods were to drop too low, which is classed as a 'hypo', which means that she will need a sugary drink or snack, otherwise she may go into a diabetic coma.
If blood sugar rises too high, it can lead to long term damage to the internal organs.
Becky said: "Life with diabetes cannot be spontaneous - you have to be sure to have medical kit and supplies with you at all time in case blood sugars go high or low.
Grandmother of Evie and Jude, Jean Broome with Evie and Becky
"Exercise can make bloods go low, whereas hormones and illness can make them go high. Every snack and meal must be planned and be at similar times each day to help keep blood sugar levels safe.
"You cannot control diabetes, or blood sugars, you just have to learn to live with it and manage it day by day. It is a 24/7 job and is hard work."
Becky's advice to people being diagnosed with diabetes was to "try not to panic, it is overwhelming at first, but in time it all becomes part of the everyday routine."
Woman told she'd never have kids after horror crash is now a proud mum
The Plymouth Sugar Zappers Group is open to everyone with any type of diabetes in Devon and Cornwall.
There are over 250 children in the group from the area and their families and cares are also part of the group. Regular educational and fun events are ran by the group which also includes carb counting training, ice skating and trips to the zoo.
For more information on the Plymouth Sugar Zappers Group visit their facebook page at Plymouth Sugar Zappers.
Dave Culip aged 67
Not only children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes though, Dave Culip now aged 67 got diagnosed with the condition at the age of 40.
He is the chair of the Diabetes UK- The Plymouth Group and was "very pleased" when the Sugar Zappers Group set up as it is aimed at children.
Dave Culip and his wife Lyn
He said: "I was really pleased when sugar zappers set up, it must be terrible when you're a little child.
"When I was first diagnosed it was a complete shock as I thought I was fit and healthy and the diagnosis came from a routine medical check.
"However, I have always had the support of my family which has been really important to me. I think you learn new things every day.
"The only misconception I have come across is that some people feel, because lack of knowledge, that diabetes is a minor illness where in reality is a most serious disease costing the country 10% of the national health budget to treat."
Thousands of Plymouth families can get a one-off £140 discount to cover winter bills - how to check if you qualify
What is insulin?
Insulin is crucial to life. When you eat, insulin is what moves the energy from your food, called glucose, from your blood into the cells of your body. When the beta cells in your pancreas fail to produce insulin, glucose levels in your blood start to rise and your body can't function properly. Over time this high level of glucose in the blood may damage nerves and blood vessels and the organs they supply.
What is the cause of type 1 diabetes?
More than 50 genes have been identified that can increase a person's risk of developing type 1, but genes are only part of the cause. Scientists are also currently investigating what environmental factors play a role.
What is known is that:
Destruction of insulin-producing beta cells is due to damage inflicted by your immune system
Something triggered your immune system to attack your beta cells
Certain genes put people at a greater risk of developing type 1 diabetes, but are not the only factors involved
While there are no proven environmental triggers, researchers are looking for possible culprits, such as viral infections and toxins within our environment and foods.
For more information or support go to https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Type-1-diabetes or you can call the helpline on 0345 123 2399.


Who they are: Client.law is an innovative online attorney marketing firm. Their company was founded by an attorney with over a decade of marketing experience on the web with hundreds of successful marketing campaigns. Their focus primarily on small to mid-size firms to increase their volume of incoming potential clients. Also, they analyse and develop a marketing strategy by assessing each firm's goals and practice areas as well as competitors to gain a clear assessment of the job to be completed.
What I did: I rebuilt the entire Client.law website from the ground up using their previous website as an example. The previous website was created in Joomla CMS and I migrated to WordPress. Let's be honest: as much as anything else, WordPress has become a popular buzzword in the past few years. I've created the responsive design in order to provide an excellent viewing experience for a wide range of devices with minimum panning, resizing, and horizontal scrolling. I've also recommended my client to choose WPEngine for a premium hosting experience.


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Hsu Kuang-han (chino tradicional= 許光漢, chino simplificado= 许光汉, pinyin= Xǔ Guānghàn, vietnamita= Hứa Quang Hán) conocido como Greg Hsu o Greg Han, es un actor y modelo taiwanés, conocido por haber interpretado a Wang Quan-sheng en la serie Someday Or One Day.

Biografía
Estudió en "Taipei Municipal Fuxing Senior High School" y en "Chinese Culture University".

Salió con Cleo Chien (簡婕), sin embargo la relación relación terminó en julio del 2017.

Carrera
En enero del 2020 se anunció que se había unido a la agencia "HL Entertainment" en China.

El 30 de julio del 2017 se unió al elenco de la serie taiwanesa Attention, Love! donde interpretó a Jin Yubin, un estudiante del departamento de administración de negocios, hasta el final de la serie el 5 de noviembre del mismo año.

El 17 de noviembre del 2019 se unió al elenco principal de la popular serie taiwanesa Someday Or One Day (想見你) donde interpretó a Wang Quan-sheng y al estudiante Li Zi-wei, hasta el final de la serie el 16 de febrero del 2020.

El 30 de abril de 2021 aparecerá como parte del elenco principal de la película My Love (你的婚礼) donde dará vida a Zhou Xiaoqi. La película es el remake de la película surcoreana On Your Wedding Day.

Filmografía

Series de televisión

Películas

Programas de variedades

Apariciones en videos musicales

Revistas / sesiones fotográficas

Anuncios

Endorsos

Premios y nominaciones

Referencias

Enlaces externos

 Greg Hsu (许光汉) on Sina Weibo
 Baidu | Greg Hsu (许光汉)
 Greg Hsu Official Instagram
 Greg Hsu at Rakuten Viki

Actores de Taiwán
Actores de televisión de Taiwán

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Is It Enough to Have Life Insurance Through Work?
Even if you have life insurance through work, you should give serious consideration to getting a private policy on the outside.
As the saying goes, never have all of your eggs in one basket, and that's absolutely true for life insurance.
This became most evident during a conversation of someone seeking life insurance through me.
The gentleman was in his late 40's and was desperately seeking coverage. He had well over of $1 million of life insurance coverage, but it was all through his work.
Why was this such a big issue?
Well, for starters he hated his job. It was super stressful and he was well passed his breaking point.
He wanted to quit but was unable.
He was the sole provider for his family and because of a recent serious heart condition, he was unable to get outside life insurance coverage.
His wife forbid him from quitting until he lined up another job that offered similar coverage, but leaving would probably mean he would see a 30% drop in his salary.
With two kids, a mortgage, and other debts, she and her kids would be in financial ruin if he left his job and passed away.
This poor guy was stuck.
He was stuck in a job he hated because he never thought to take life insurance outside of his employer.
This is a just one example why only having life insurance through work is a BAD idea.
This is a common response to the question of life insurance by people who have life insurance through work. Usually, not much thought goes into determining if this cliché is even valid.
For example, most employer life insurance policies fall far short of the amount of coverage that you actually need. Your employer will have a types of life insurance chart that may offer you a $50,000 or $100,000 policy at no cost. But that will be totally inadequate if you have a young family and actually need something closer to $500,000 or more.
Some employers do offer supplemental life insurance coverage where you have to pay the premium for the additional coverage. While this may sound like a good option on the surface, it will still keep all of your life insurance with a single source.
You may plan to stay on your current job for the rest of your life, but reality probably won't cooperate. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average stay on a job as of 2014 is 4.6 years. Considering that a career may span 45 years, that's what (?) – ten jobs over a lifetime?
An important factor that the BLS statistic doesn't account for is the not-so-unusual practice of employers to reassign workers from employee-with-benefits status to unbenefited sub-contractors. It's called "cutting payroll costs" and it plays well with Wall Street analysts and investors.
Then there's also the possibility of experiencing extended periods of unemployment in between jobs. This becomes even more likely during recessions, when you may find yourself without a job or insurance coverage for many months.
Whether by separation or by reassignment, your current employer provided life insurance policy will come to an end at some point, and likely a lot sooner than you think.
What If You Develop a Health Condition Before You Lose Your Job?
The standard advice when it comes to purchasing life insurance is to do it while you're healthy. If you develop a health condition, and later lose your job, the option to purchase a private policy could disappear.
Certain health conditions can make it impossible to get a life insurance policy, particularly if that condition is fairly recent. And even if you can get policy, it will come with a risk adjusted premium, that will make it cost much more.
You certainly want to keep a life insurance through work policy, particularly if it's one that you don't have to pay for. But any additional coverage that you need should be through a private policy purchased outside of work.
Are you familiar with diversification as an investment strategy? It's also valuable when it comes to purchasing life insurance. Your financial situation is more secure if you maintain policies through two or more completely separate entities.
My services will not cost you any more than buying the policy directly from the life insurance company.
I can handle all of the paperwork and nuances that are part of the life insurance application process – which you are probably totally unfamiliar with.
I can get you the best policy for your needs, at the lowest possible premium rate. In this way, using a life insurance agent will actually save you money on your policy.
I know who the better insurance companies are, and will place your application with those, so that you don't waste time and application fees applying to companies that won't be a good match.
In the event that you need to add additional insurance or even change policies in the future, I will be there to help you through the process.
Your life insurance premium will never be lower than it will be today.
That's due to the simple fact that age is one of the major factors in determining life insurance premiums. If you are 30 years old right now, the premium on a private policy will be much lower today than it will be when you're 40 or 50.
By locking in the premium rate on a long-term term life insurance policy now, you will spare yourself both the higher premiums that will come with age, and the possibility of being declined for poor health.
I'm ready by the phone any time you're ready to move past "I don't need more life insurance – I'm covered at work". That assumption could be hazardous to your family's financial health.


text:
\section{Introduction}
Image augmentation is a data augmentation method that generates more training data from the existing training samples. This way the neural network is trained with more different images. This helps to generalize better on new and unknown images and leads to better performance with smaller datasets. Image augmentation is especially useful in domains where training data is limited or expensive to obtain like in biomedical applications.

Image augmentation is a regularization technique like Dropout \cite{Dropout} and weight regularization \cite{l1_l2_reg}. But it is different in one way. It is not part of the network itself which makes it easy and cheap to apply. Images can be augmented on runtime. While the GPU runs the neural network, the CPU can do the augmentation for the next batch in an asynchronous manner.

Two state-of-the-art techniques for advanced image augmentation are called Cutout \cite{Cutout} and SamplePairing \cite{SamplePairing}. In our work we show two improvements to these techniques. Our main contributions are:
\begin{enumerate}
\item Copyout image augmentation described in section \ref{sec:Copyout}
\item CopyPairing image augmentation described in section \ref{sec:CopyPairing}
\item Several experiments to compare them in Section \ref{sec:Method_Comparison} ff.
\item An analysis of the reasons why these methods improve performance in Section \ref{sec:Conclusion}
\end{enumerate}

\section{Copyout}\label{sec:Copyout}
The Copyout image augmentation technique should be applied on runtime on each image before it is used to build the mini-batch for training. The results must not be stored and reused. This would reduce the variance of the training images and reduce the performance of the CNN. The augmentation is conducted in these three steps:

\begin{enumerate}
\item Select a target training image to augment. On this target image select a square area on a random location. By this way it is possible that the randomly selected square leaves the image on one or two sides. This can effectively change the shape of the square to a rectangle. As stated by \citet{Cutout} this is an important feature and improves performance. In our implementation the center of the square never leaves the target image.

\item Randomly select a source image from the training set. On this source image also select an area of the same extend as the one we selected on the target image. This second area is also selected on a random location but must be fully placed within the source image.

\item Copy the area of the source image to the target image.
\end{enumerate}

The extend of the square is a hyperparameter which must be set before training starts and does not change during the training process. Apparently the extend must be smaller than the training images. \citet{Cutout} found that for Cutout the extend of the square is more important than the shape. This is the reason why we also decided to use squares for simplicity.

Examples of images augmented by Copyout are given in Figure \ref{fig:copyout_examples}.

\begin{figure
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figs/copyout_examples.pdf}
  \caption{Examples of CIFAR-10 \cite{CIFAR} Images augmented by Copyout.}
  \label{fig:copyout_examples}
\end{figure}

\section{CopyPairing}\label{sec:CopyPairing}
CopyPairing is a mixture of Copyout and SamplePairing (\citet{SamplePairing} and Appendix \ref{sec:SamplePairing_Overview}). CopyPairing follows the same three phases as SamplePairing. The only difference is that it replaces the phases where SamplePairing is disabled by using Copyout. CopyPairing is conducted by the following three steps:

\begin{enumerate}
\item Only Copyout is enabled and SamplePairing is completely disabled for the first epochs.

\item SamplePairing is enabled for a few epochs and then Copyout is used for the next few epochs. This is alternating for the majority of the epochs.

\item At the end of training only Copyout is enabled while SamplePairing is completely disabled again. This is also called fine-tuning.
\end{enumerate}

\section{Experiments}\label{sec:Experiments}

\subsection{Experimental Setup}\label{sec:Experimental_Setup}
The CNN we use for our experiments consists of six 2D convolution layers with Glorot uniform kernel initializer \cite{GlorotInit}, Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) activation \citep{relu} and Batch Normalization \cite{BatchNorm}. Two dense layers are applied at the output and combined with two Dropout layers \citep{Dropout}. Although \citet{BatchNorm} propose to place the Batch Normalization layer in front of the activation function we found out that this CNN performs better when activation and Batch Normalization are interchanged. Appendix \ref{sec:Keras_Code} Listing \ref{lst:Keras_Model} presents the definition of the concrete CNN with Keras \cite{Keras}.

As the optimizer we use Adam with parameters as provided in the paper \cite{Adam} (learning rate of 0.001 e.g.). The mini-batch size is 128 and we train for 1200 epochs. The CIFAR-10 Dataset \citep{CIFAR} is used for reference.

\subsection{Basic Augmentation}\label{sec:Basic_Augmentation}
For basic augmentation we randomly rotate the images by up to 15 deg. to the left and right, randomly flip them horizontally and randomly zoom them by a factor of up to 0.2. Appendix \ref{sec:Keras_Code} Listing \ref{lst:Keras_Basic_Augmentation} presents our implementation of basic augmentation with the Keras \texttt{ImageDataGenerator} class.

It is important where and how basic augmentation is applied. When it is only applied to the target image and not the source image the performance will be reduced. It is important that the source image is also augmented. This can be achieved when basic augmentation is applied after the square has been copied. But we selected another method.

Our basic augmentation is combined with Copyout and SamplePairing by using a buffer. We apply basic augmentation on the target image and store it in a buffer. For Copyout and SamplePairing we then select the source image from this buffer randomly. This way we have augmentation for source and target images.

Figure \ref{fig:buffer} displays different experiments with varying buffer sizes. It shows that the buffer size can be small without reducing performance. It also shows that augmentation of source images is important. The ``Copyout - no Buf'' experiment selects the source images from the whole training set without taking them from the buffer and without applying basic augmentation on the source images. Its median test error rate is significantly increased.

\begin{figure
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figs/buffer.pdf}
  \caption{Comparison of Copyout with different buffer sizes to store augmented images. ``Copyout - no Buf'' selects the source images from the whole training set without buffer and augmentation. Method name with buffer size and median test error rate is given by the caption. Each experiment has been repeated at least 12 times to draw the boxplots.}
  \label{fig:buffer}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Method Comparison}\label{sec:Method_Comparison}
We compared the different augmentation techniques while using the setup described in Section \ref{sec:Experimental_Setup}. All experiments have been combined with basic augmentation (see Section \ref{fig:copyout_examples}). Each experiment was repeated at least 12 times to get meaningful boxplots. Boxplots with test error rates are shown in Figure \ref{fig:baselines}.

For the \textit{baseline} experiment we only used basic augmentation and reached a median test error rate of 7.09\%. With \textit{Cutout} augmentation we reached a median test error rate of 6.6\%.

For the \textit{SamplePairing} experiment we used the following configuration: In phase 1 we disabled SamplePairing for the first 100 epochs. Phase 2 lasted 900 epochs, SamplePairing was turned on for 8 epochs and turned off for 2 epochs alternating. Phase 3 (fine-tuning) lasted the remaining 200 epochs. This corresponds to the setup of \citet{SamplePairing}.\\
With SamplePairing we reached a median test error rate of 6.33\%.

For \textit{Copyout} augmentation we selected a 16 pixel extend of the square as hyperparameter and reached a median test error rate of 6.06\%. This is an 8.18\% improvement compared with Cutout and a 4.27\% improvement compared with SamplePairing.

The experiment with \textit{CopyPairing} was done with the following configuration: For the Copyout part we selected a 16 pixel extend of the square as hyperparameter. In phase 1 we disabled the SamplePairing part for the first 100 epochs with only Copyout enabled. Phase 2 lasted 900 epochs with alternating SamplePairing and Copyout part for one epoch each. This was executed alternating. Phase 3 (fine-tuning) lasted the remaining 200 epochs with the SamplePairing part turned off and only Copyout enabled.\\
We reached a median test error rate of 5.81\%. This is an 11.97\% improvement compared with Cutout and an 8.21\% improvement compared with SamplePairing. Even compared with the Copyout augmentation we reached an improvement of 4.13\%.

\begin{figure
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figs/baselines.pdf}
  \caption{Comparison of Cutout, SamplePairing, Copyout and CopyPairing. Also illustrated is the baseline with just default image augmentation and without any further augmentation. Method name and median test error rate is given by the caption. Each experiment has been repeated at least 12 times to draw the boxplots.}
  \label{fig:baselines}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Square Area Extent Comparison for Copyout}\label{sec:Square_Area_Extent_Comparison_for_Copyout}
In our experiments with Copyout we selected a 16 pixel extend of the square as hyperparameter. To examine if the selection was the best choice we executed three different experiments. One with 16 pixel extend, one with 15 and 17 pixel extends. The result is that larger and smaller extend numbers for the square are lowering the performance for our experimental setting and that a 16 pixel extend is the best choice for this setup (see Figure \ref{fig:extent}).

\begin{figure
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figs/extent.pdf}
  \caption{Comparison of three different extends of the square area for Copyout. Method name with the selected extend and median test error rate is given by the caption. Each experiment has been repeated at least 12 times to draw the boxplots.}
  \label{fig:extent}
\end{figure}

\subsection{CopyPairing Hyperparameter Comparison}\label{sec:CopyPairing_HP_Comparison}
As with Copyout we also wanted to compare the different hyperparameter settings for CopyPairing. In particular phase 2 of CopyPairing provides many different options for configuration. Therefore we selected a different ratio of epochs with SamplePairing and Copyout. The results are presented in Figure \ref{fig:mixture} and show that a ratio of one epoch with SamplePairing and one epoch with Copyout is best (see CopyPairing 1:1).

As a second experiment we investigated if the fine-tuning phase is needed. In this third phase (called fine-tuning) the SamplePairing is normally turned off and just Copyout is used for the last epochs of the training. In this experiment we just skipped this fine-tuning phase and extended the second phase until the end of training. The result is also shown in Figure \ref{fig:mixture} and indicates that the fine-tuning phase should be retained as it improves the performance.

\begin{figure
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.8\linewidth]{figs/mixture.pdf}
  \caption{Comparison of different CopyPairing experiments. The ratios of SamplePairing and Copyout epochs have been varied. For example 3:1 means 3 epochs of SamplePairing followed by 1 epoch of Copyout in phase 2 of the SamplePairing technique. CopyPairing 1:1 noFT shows the results of a 1:1 CopyPairing experiment without phase 3 (fine-tuning). Method name with the selected ratio and median test error rate is given by the caption. Each experiment has been repeated at least 12 times to draw the boxplots.}
  \label{fig:mixture}
\end{figure}

\section{Conclusion}\label{sec:Conclusion}
In this work the application of \textit{Copyout} and \textit{CopyPairing} is described. Considering the boxplots, we conclude that they are a statistically significant improvement of the state-of-the-art image augmentation techniques \textit{Cutout} and \textit{SamplePairing} (see Section \ref{sec:Method_Comparison}). But what are the reasons for this improvement?

We conducted several experiments to compare the average magnitude of feature activations as done by \citet{Cutout}. But this gave us ambiguous results. That is the reason why we give intuitive explanations. Cutout and Copyout both randomly remove visual features of the training images and forces the network to focus on a wider number of different features to distinguish between different images. This helps to generalize better on unknown pictures. Cutout and Copyout also help to handle occlusion. But what is the relevant distinction between Copyout and Cutout? Why does Copyout perform better?

Cutout performs the occlusion with just a gray square which can be considered wasted space. Copyout fills this space with more visual information which can be observed in Figure \ref{fig:copyout_examples}. One wing of the airplane on the right image is occluded by a frog. This way Copyout not only removes random visual features but also adds new random ones. These random features better correspond to the natural effect of occlusion. In real images for example a truck is more likely not occluded by a grey box but by a car. This helps with further generalization. The small squares of the Copyout technique with additional visual features moreover forces the CNN to differ between important and less important features. The intuitive explanation is that the network learns to focus more closely to the different details to distinguish between important features and misguiding details.

The best presented augmentation scheme is \textit{CopyPairing}. But why does it improve performance compared to SamplePairing? The reason might be that SamplePairing is wasting augmentation potential when it is deactivated for a few epochs in phase 2 and completely deactivated in phase 3 for fine-tuning  (also see Appendix \ref{sec:SamplePairing_Overview}). This gap is filled in the CopyPairing technique with using Copyout in-between.

In summary we found two new augmentation techniques that improve the performance for image processing tasks with CNNs. This is especially useful in domains where training data is limited or expensive to obtain as in biomedical applications.

\FloatBarrier
\medskip
\bibliographystyle{hunsrtnat}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


I remember the days when we had to reduce hips in the emergency department and I used to have to jump on the bed. Stand there and pull up on the hip with the knee at right angles. In fact I remember, many years ago, working in a small emergency department with one doctor and one nurse overnight because admin refused to put on more staff, and having to give sedation and asking the nurse to hold the bag, whilst I jumped on the bed and pulled the hip back in.
Now that I'm older, I can't do this any more. But, maybe wisdom allows us to use a different approach. I recently saw this used in the US and loved it.
Remember that the longer the hip has been out, the harder it is to put in. The exception to the rule is the hip that has come out 20 times in the last 2 months. The problem with that hip, is keeping it in. For all other, make sure the patient is well sedated.
So here is a new technique for putting in hips. I call it the 'Under/Over lift'. Watch how easily it goes in in this video.
after 30 yrs i was still using the jump on the bed technique.
You made it look so simple and it really is after i tried the technique.
What is this patient sedated with , has she got sux on the board.
My experience with relocating these patients in ED without Sux , is often incomplete relaxation , leading to aquiriung low back injury and pain at night when you go home .
The patient only has 'propofol' on board, no muscle relaxants. The secret in hips, is to get them deep with the 'propofol'.
I applied this new method to a 70 year old with dislocated hip prosthesis tonight , and it worked well . Easy method ,Safe to the patient , operator and assistant.


text:
British Business Bank support schemes delivers over £75bn of loans to 1.6m smaller businesses
£46.5bn Bounce Back Loan Scheme
£23.3bn Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
£5.3bn Coronavirus Larger Business Interruption Loan Scheme
£1.2bn Future Fund
Today the government published new statistics that show businesses across the UK have to date benefitted from 1,630,155 government-guaranteed loans worth £75.1bn to support their cashflow during the crisis through schemes delivered by the British Business Bank.
This includes 1,531,095 Bounce Back Loans worth £46.5billion, 98,344 loans worth £23.3 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and 716 loans worth £5.3billion through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. New figures for Bounce Back Loan Scheme Top-Ups reveal 101,666 loans have been approved valued at £0.9 billion.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme all close on 31 March 2021. The new Recovery Loan Scheme will open for applications on 6 April 2021.
In addition, figures for the Future Fund show that, to date, there has been £1.2bn worth of convertible loans approved for 1,236 companies since the fund opened for applications on 20 May. This sum has been matched by at least the same amount from third-party investors. The Future Fund closed for applications on 31 January 2021.
Cumulative number of approved facilities
Cumulative value of approved facilities
Cumulative number of applications
Bounce Back Loan Scheme 1,531,095 £46.5bn 2,056,587
Bounce Back Loan Scheme
Top-Ups
N.B. value of top-ups also
included in the headline
figure of BBLS value of
facilities approved 101,666 £0.9bn* 174,291
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme 98,344 £23.3bn 233,247
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans Scheme 716 £5.3bn 1,130
Future Fund 1,236 £1.2bn 1,846
The management information for CBILS, CLBILS and BBLS is reported on behalf of British Business Bank accredited lenders as shared directly with HMT by close of business on 22 March 2021. The Future Fund data is reported on behalf of the British Business Bank.
The applications figure includes approved applications, those applications that are still to be processed, applications that have been declined and those applications that may turn out not to be eligible or cases where customers will decide not to proceed. For CBILS, this number will also include a number of applications that have subsequently been converted to applications for the BBLS scheme. For Future Fund, the number of applications includes only those where both a company and their lead investor have submitted information.
Future Fund opened for applications on 20 May 2020. Provided that applicants provide the information required during the application process in a timely manner, it is expected that the process will take a minimum of 21 days from initial application to funding being made available. Convertible loans are reported as approved at the point the Convertible Loan Agreement document is issued by Future Fund for signature. The time to applicants subsequently receiving funds will depend on the speed with which they complete the documentation.
*Value of top-ups also included in the headline figure of BBLS value of facilities approved. The value of BBLS facilities approved includes the extra value from a BBLS loan which has subsequently been 'topped-up' to a higher amount. 1 topped up loan will still be reported as 1 loan to avoid double counting the number of facilities approved. (e.g. if there were previously 2 facilities worth £40,000 each and subsequently 1 had been topped up to £50,000, this would now be reported as 2 facilities worth a total of £90,000). It was announced on 2nd November that BBLS borrowers who took out less than their maximum under the scheme rules (the lesser of £50,000 or 25% of their turnover) in their first loan application will now be allowed to top-up their loan up to the maximum.
Covid-19 Loan Schemes
The Future Fund will support the UK's innovative businesses currently affected by Covid-19. These businesses have been unable to access other government business support programmes, such as CBILS, because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit and typically rely on equity investment. Initially, £250 million was made available by the government for investment through the scheme, to be matched by private investors, with the Treasury making clear the amount could be increased if needed. Developed by government and delivered by the British Business Bank, the Future Fund launched for applications in May and closed on 31 January 2021.
BBLS is a demand-led scheme offering lending that targets small and micro businesses, providing loans from £2k up to 25% of the business' turnover with a maximum loan of £50k. Providing lenders with a 100% government-backed guarantee and standardising the application form has led to a faster process with many loans becoming available within days. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme enables businesses to obtain a six-year term loan at a government set interest rate of 2.5% a year. The government will cover interest payable in the first year. The scheme will be open until 31 March 2021.
CBILS is a demand-led scheme offering lending to smaller businesses with turnover of up to £45m. Invoice finance and asset finance facilities are available from £1k to £5m, while term loans and revolving credit facilities are available from £50k to £5m. The government makes a payment to cover interest and lender-levied fees under CBILS for the first 12 months. The scheme will be open until 31 March 2021.
CLBILS is a demand led scheme targeted at larger businesses with a turnover of more than £45m. CLBILS can be used to support term loans, revolving credit facilities, invoice finance facilities and asset finance facilities. The maximum amount available through CLBILS to a borrower and its group is £200m. Term loans and revolving credit facilities over £50m are offered by CLBILS lenders which have secured additional accreditation. The maximum size for invoice finance facilities and asset finance facilities is £50m. Companies borrowing more than £50m through CLBILS are subject to further restrictions on dividend payments, senior pay and share buy-backs during the period of the loan. The scheme will be open until 31 March 2021.
About the British Business Bank
The British Business Bank is the UK government's economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.
The British Business Bank programmes were supporting nearly £8bn of finance to almost 94,800 smaller businesses at end of June 2020. Since March 2020, the British Business Bank has launched four new Coronavirus business loan schemes, delivering tens of billions of pounds of finance to 1.6m businesses.
As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success. In light of the coronavirus pandemic and EU Exit, the Finance Hub has expanded and it now targets a wider business audience. It continues to provide information and support for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses, but now provides increased content, information and products for businesses in survival and recovery mindsets. The Finance Hub has been redesigned and repositioned to reflect this, during this period of economic uncertainty.
As the holding company of the group operating under the trading name of British Business Bank, British Business Bank plc is wholly owned by HM Government and is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank operates through a number of subsidiaries, none of which are authorised or regulated by the FCA or the PRA.
British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.


The CCDS core members sometimes organise one-off events that have a more defined focus than the seminar series or conference.
Held at Liverpool Hope University in 2017, funded by the Education Faculties Key Practitioner initiative and the CCDS, organisation of this symposium was led by Claire Penketh.
Held at Liverpool Hope University in 2016 and funded by the CCDS, organisation of this guest lecture was led by David Bolt.
Held at Liverpool Hope University in 2015 and funded by the CCDS, organisation of this symposium was led by David Bolt.
Held at Liverpool Hope University in 2010 and funded by the Wellcome Trust, organisation of this seminar was led by Ria Cheyne.


Storehouse hall 20x50/4.4 m – favourable hire or bargain.
IN STOCK, IMMEDIATE set up!
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