Anno 117: Pax Romana awakened the city building fanatic in me
The Anno series has had some hits and misses — its most recent game, 2019's 1800, is widely considered one of its best, while future-focused titles 2205 and 2070 had mixed results. But Pax Romana has something for die-hard tactics players, beauty builders, and even newcomers like me: the franchise's first-ever simultaneous release on PC and console, the reintroduction of land combat, the promise of finally bringing Anno to Rome, and major updates to existing game systems.
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Some team members have worked on the series for 10, 15, or 20 years, know exactly what diehard Anno fans want (prettier palettes that take advantage of improved graphics, a greater variety of choice, more robust gameplay systems, and diegetic moments of hilarious catastrophe), and are determined to deliver.
I travelled to Rome to be one of the first people in the world to go hands-on with Anno 117: Pax Romana and chat with creative director Manuel Reinher and game director Jan Dungel, emerging from the experience thoroughly jet-lagged and with a newfound appreciation for the series and the genre. Andiamo!
A new Anno
Anno 117: Pax Romana is the first game in the series since the beloved 1800, which was set during the Industrial Revolution. It's also the series' biggest historical leap backwards. The team didn't want to set the next Anno game during the bloody, war-fueled throes of the Roman Empire, but during the height of a 200-year-long period of peace and prosperity.
'Our fans have asked for this for a very long time,' Reinher tells Digital Trends. 'The power of Rome, it's a very appealing setting, but we struggled because with Rome there's a certain fantasy that is well-delivered, and delivered so often people have a certain expectation … We found Pax Romana is the playground for us, it ticked all the boxes. It's almost 200 years of stability in the empire, peak growth … and it's a good fit because conflict is not the core of the Anno experience.'
In Anno 117, you'll play as a freshly appointed Roman governor in Latium, a province close to the center of the Empire, tasked with upholding that aforementioned peace and prosperity. Will you govern with an iron fist and hope that fear keeps the peace, or show empathy and kindness and pray to one of your chosen Gods that rival governors don't step on your exposed toes?
And then there's Albion, the fog-covered Celtic lands where no 'civilized' Roman dares tread lest they face the ire of the strange, savage locales. You can go there, as well (though I didn't get to that during my hands-on), and decide what to do with the land and its people.
Anno 117: Pax Romana hopes to offer players deeper, more meaningful choices than any other game in the franchise. A massive discovery tree, with over 150 'discoveries' divided into three main categories (economy, civic, and military), will help 'soften the linearity' players may have felt in previous titles.
Researching improved storage capacities can help you store more product to trade with neighboring provinces, while civic research allows you to explore different religions, or build new public buildings. And you won't be locked to a certain branch on this discovery tree, you're free to research paved roads, or learn Latin, or beef up your military presence.
Like any Anno game, 117: Pax Romana is centered around economic simulation with some traditional city builder mechanics and 4X strategy features sprinkled in. But 117 is bringing back a controversial feature players haven't seen in the franchise in a very long time: land combat.
The team is pretty close-lipped about it during our preview, but confirmed Anno 117: Pax Romana will have both land and naval combat, with more depth when it comes to integrating the two, and the promise that only big, powerful cities can have a thriving military. But don't fret — Anno is not a war sim franchise, and the team considers land combat to be 'another choice, another tool.' Diplomacy could be your vibe, rather than wielding steel.
Aside from gameplay features, the team wants 117 to be the 'most beautiful builder gamer, period.' There's a new day and night cycle that elicits some big 'ooohh' moments, like when the flickering fires of the lucernae come alive as the sun sets, or when burgeoning cities are cut through with gorgeous lavender fields. The added ability to create curved roads allows for more freedom in city layouts, and the team's attention to detail can be found in every pixel, from the waves breaking around a sailing ship to grain crops shifting softly in the wind.
Ubisoft is excited to show people how multicultural ancient Rome was, how it pulled inspiration and even religions from Celtic and Egyptian lands, and how the expansion of the empire led to cultural exchange. 'Religious ideas, technologies, resources, they travel from one province to the other,' Reinher explains.
This ancient melting pot helped stabilize the empire. 'People are surprised by that fact … This happened 2,000 years ago. Ideas travelled like this, and it's a fascinating story that breaks the boundaries of what we all have in our minds when we think about such an economic empire.'
Roman onboarding
Ubisoft Mainz promises Anno: 117 Pax Romana's gameplay experience is for both newcomers and old heads alike, thanks to an improved onboarding system.
'Anno can be quite complex, but it's rewarding step-by-step,' Dungel says. 'You don't need to completely understand the universe to enjoy [the games].'
To describe sitting down to play an Anno game for the first time while surrounded by the cold stone walls of an ancient Romane estate as 'surreal' wouldn't do it justice. Overwhelmed by the game's systems and in awe of the Horti Sallustiani (the gardens of Sallust), I worry I won't be able to create an Empire my ancestors would be proud of. I consider lingering around the craft services table and eat as much olive bread (a staple of the Romane diet) to avoid embarrassing myself. But I have a job to do, and gawking at the marble structure soaring overhead won't do me any good.
So I sit down, load in, and am immediately tasked with placing my governor's villa somewhere on this newfound island that's far enough inland to avoid getting attacked by coastal invaders, but central enough that it can easily connect to warehouses and other important commerce buildings.
An in-game pop-up urges me to ensure that my villa is connected to another important building, but fails to tell me I have to build that second structure. I glance around, helpless, until someone comes over and walks me through it, just for me to immediately get stuck again because I can't see a missing pixel of road that means the buildings were technically still not connected.
I let out a grunt of frustration. I am jetlagged and my brain is functioning at its lowest possible capacity. I need more olive bread.
Soon enough, my Italian ancestors smile upon me. I start to get the hang of things after my little roadblock (teehee). I build a sawmill in the center of a forest to ensure we have a steady supply of wood, and place a collection of houses for my lowest class working folks probably a bit too close to the governor's house for a man of his stature's liking (I believe in solidarity across classes in my ancient Rome). I ring the workers' homes with purple wildflowers, place a tavern and a market close enough to their quarters so that they buff everyone who lives there (which helps you earn more money faster), and send my sole ship out to treaty with a neighboring isle.
'[Building Anno 117] was a little bit challenging, because we have very different audiences,' Dungel admits. 'Some people want to collaborate, they are super hardcore, they want to value share and network, but some people are more casual. For the first time, we decided we would try to find a way to please both of these groups, not make it less deep and less complex, but give an option for people who want to go more casual. That's why you don't have to deliver all the needs [requirements for every population tier that must be filled in order to progress] … you don't have to immediately go to another province.'
Though I stumble at first, after about 1.5 hours of playtime, I have a tier 3 city sprawling out before my eyes, complete with soap production, ship-building, tunic and sandal makers, tilers, and a temple to worship our chosen goddess, Ceres, who helps boost our farms' output. There's a plethora of emergency services, including doctors, Vigiles Urbani (basically Rome's NYPD), and firefighters, the last of whom successfully snuff out a fire that starts near my sheep pasture. I even have a massive new ship that can carry far more cargo than the one I started with.
But my city is net negative, and losing money fast. I get a loan, then another, then another, and then I start to panic. Despite my efforts, there just aren't enough people to produce my much-needed products (the pretty lady on a neighboring island really wants tunics), or enough raw material for the people to form into something usable for the empire. I need to build more homes to get more able-bodied workers, but I don't have enough lumber, and my island is looking more and more like a desert every minute.
Even the Anno experts next to me are struggling with their financials. 'I can't take another loan,' one player bemoans.
Before I can right my ship, the hands-on is over. I had just gotten my negative income out of the triple digits and was in the process of conquering another island that had some crucial resources (olives, mackerel), when we were given a times-up signal.
'I was getting the hang of it!' I protest. 'I just need more plebeians!' The Ubisoft dev who pulled me from the depths of dirt road despair two hours earlier laughs. He has just seen a new city builder player be born before his eyes.
Anno 117: Pax Romana releases later this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
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CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Faith, flags and deep-dish pizza: Pope Leo shows Gen Z appeal as a million young people flock to Rome
Rome just wrapped the equivalent of a Catholic Woodstock. Its headline act: The new American Pope. Hundreds of thousands of young people descended on the Eternal City throughout the week for a festival of faith, music and religious services that saw groups of teens and young adults from across the globe singing songs, waving flags on Rome's ancient streets and camping out in huge warehouses on the city's outskirts. After descending by helicopter on Saturday evening, Pope Leo XIV greeted the sea of excited pilgrims with waves and blessings – and at one point, catching a tennis ball thrown from the crowd, showing off a skill he may have learned from his own love of the sport. After a prayer vigil, which took place at a sprawling site in Rome's Tor Vergata district, the crowd slept under the stars before waking up early Sunday as Leo returned to celebrate Mass. For Leo, who has been in post for less than 100 days, the mega-meeting of youth marks the first test for his pontificate on whether he can connect with the church's younger generations. The Vatican said authorities estimated more than a million young people turned out for the Sunday Mass alone, making it the largest event of his papacy. Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, was a hit with many young people, with a style that put aside pre-prepared speeches to engage in a back and forth with big crowds and who took tough questions from them about loss of faith, abortion and sexual abuse. Leo has a different style to Francis. The Chicago-born pope frequently keeps to his set texts and leans on the Vatican for help in a way that his more disruptive predecessor frequently avoided. Nevertheless, the pope was able to demonstrate an ability to connect with young people through his quiet charisma and authenticity, communicating less through dramatic actions and salty speeches, but with a gentle leadership. The youth event in Rome – part of the Catholic Church's jubilee celebrations – saw Leo both embrace the young people's enthusiasm but ensure moments of quiet contemplation. On Saturday evening, the crowd fell silent as Leo, kneeling at the main altar, led them in a period of silent prayer. It is still early days for Leo's papacy. While he has shown determination to continue with the reforms begun by Francis, he is still growing into the role. Leo is known for his methodical style and those close to him say he is likely to spend several months listening and analyzing before making major personnel appointments or other key decisions. As an Augustinian friar, his spirituality is contemplative and at the relatively youthful papal age of 69-years-old – on display on Saturday when he carried a large wooden cross up the stairs to the main altar – he doesn't need to rush. A key question is how he manages the church's central administration in the Vatican, the Roman Curia, which Francis often bypassed and sometimes strongly criticized. Leo has shown he wants to work with the institution but needs to avoid being controlled by it. Some Vatican observers say he still needs to find his voice and make better use of his linguistic advantages. 'I can understand that he wants to make sure he speaks Italian – and he speaks it well – as the pope is the Bishop of Rome,' Robert Mickens, a long time Vatican commentator and columnist for the Union of Catholic Asia News (UCAN) told CNN. 'But he has to speak in English if he wants to reach his target audience.' During the youth celebration Leo made better use of his languages, switching between Spanish, English and Italian – and on Tuesday evening, he electrified crowds who went wild when Leo made a surprise appearance after the welcome Mass. 'You are the light of the world!' he told them in English to loud cheers. Long-term trends show a sharp decline in youth engagement and identification in mainstream religions in Western nations. However, the Catholic Church could be bucking that trend, with some recent studies showing an increased interest among Gen Z. During the youth jamboree, Leo greeted a sea of iPhones in St Peter's Basilica as he met social media influencers described as 'digital missionaries' trying to connect with new audiences. One of them, José De Urquidi, a former craft beer brewer, told CNN that 'like missionaries' of the past who learned new languages and customs, 'Catholic influencers today translate eternal truths into the visual, immediate language of digital natives, meeting Gen Z within their cultural context.' 'It's such a cool experience to connect with people your age from different places all over the world that are living through the same thing and want to experience the same things,' 17-year-old Milena Solano, who had travelled from the United States, told CNN. 'Some people think it's weird to be religious, and I think meeting people that don't think that is so refreshing, and nice to see that you're not the only one,' Solano said. While Francis used to skim the newspapers, Leo is the first pope to wear an Apple watch and write his own emails. He is more conscious than his predecessors of online news and the world of social media – including its pitfalls. 'As you know, today there are algorithms that tell us what we should watch, what we should think, and who our friends should be. And so our relationships become confusing, sometimes anxious,' he told young people on Saturday. At a time of uncertainty – political and otherwise – many young people are also hoping Leo will be a voice for the marginalized. Victoria Aguirre, 17, from the pope's hometown of Chicago, said: 'I would really love for him to pray for my family and all the immigrants and refugees in our country, just for peace and refuge and safety for them.' And as Damian Hernandez, an 18-year-old from New Mexico waited for the pope to arrive, he said it was important for Leo to stress welcoming immigrants, 'particularly with what's happening in the United States with the deportations.' Among the American pilgrims in Rome, there was a special affinity for a pope who speaks their language and culture. Some in the crowd chanted 'Viva il papa' after Leo addressed the crowd in English before Mass on Sunday morning – and the pontiff looked pleased after he was handed a slice of Chicago deep dish pizza from Aurelio's in St. Peter's Square. Before his election, the pope was a frequent visitor to one of their restaurants in Homewood, Illinois. As pope, Leo can't go out for a quiet slice anymore. He went from the relative obscurity of a Rome-based cardinal to one of the most famous people in the world in a matter of hours. While most political leaders like to make a big impact in their first 100 days, Leo seems happy to listen, analyze and wait. This strategy could, in the long run, give him more authority inside the church to press ahead with reforms and as a moral voice on the world stage. 'We are with the young people of Gaza, we are with the young people of Ukraine,' Leo said at the end of Sunday's Mass. As the young people prepared to head home, he told them: 'My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible.' Alessandro Gentile, Witek Rzepczak and Clara Schönthaler contributed reporting.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Faith, flags and deep-dish pizza: Pope Leo shows Gen Z appeal as a million young people flock to Rome
Rome just wrapped the equivalent of a Catholic Woodstock. Its headline act: The new American Pope. Hundreds of thousands of young people descended on the Eternal City throughout the week for a festival of faith, music and religious services that saw groups of teens and young adults from across the globe singing songs, waving flags on Rome's ancient streets and camping out in huge warehouses on the city's outskirts. After descending by helicopter on Saturday evening, Pope Leo XIV greeted the sea of excited pilgrims with waves and blessings – and at one point, catching a tennis ball thrown from the crowd, showing off a skill he may have learned from his own love of the sport. After a prayer vigil, which took place at a sprawling site in Rome's Tor Vergata district, the crowd slept under the stars before waking up early Sunday as Leo returned to celebrate Mass. For Leo, who has been in post for less than 100 days, the mega-meeting of youth marks the first test for his pontificate on whether he can connect with the church's younger generations. The Vatican said authorities estimated more than a million young people turned out for the Sunday Mass alone, making it the largest event of his papacy. Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, was a hit with many young people, with a style that put aside pre-prepared speeches to engage in a back and forth with big crowds and who took tough questions from them about loss of faith, abortion and sexual abuse. Leo has a different style to Francis. The Chicago-born pope frequently keeps to his set texts and leans on the Vatican for help in a way that his more disruptive predecessor frequently avoided. Nevertheless, the pope was able to demonstrate an ability to connect with young people through his quiet charisma and authenticity, communicating less through dramatic actions and salty speeches, but with a gentle leadership. The youth event in Rome – part of the Catholic Church's jubilee celebrations – saw Leo both embrace the young people's enthusiasm but ensure moments of quiet contemplation. On Saturday evening, the crowd fell silent as Leo, kneeling at the main altar, led them in a period of silent prayer. It is still early days for Leo's papacy. While he has shown determination to continue with the reforms begun by Francis, he is still growing into the role. Leo is known for his methodical style and those close to him say he is likely to spend several months listening and analyzing before making major personnel appointments or other key decisions. As an Augustinian friar, his spirituality is contemplative and at the relatively youthful papal age of 69-years-old – on display on Saturday when he carried a large wooden cross up the stairs to the main altar – he doesn't need to rush. A key question is how he manages the church's central administration in the Vatican, the Roman Curia, which Francis often bypassed and sometimes strongly criticized. Leo has shown he wants to work with the institution but needs to avoid being controlled by it. Some Vatican observers say he still needs to find his voice and make better use of his linguistic advantages. 'I can understand that he wants to make sure he speaks Italian – and he speaks it well – as the pope is the Bishop of Rome,' Robert Mickens, a long time Vatican commentator and columnist for the Union of Catholic Asia News (UCAN) told CNN. 'But he has to speak in English if he wants to reach his target audience.' During the youth celebration Leo made better use of his languages, switching between Spanish, English and Italian – and on Tuesday evening, he electrified crowds who went wild when Leo made a surprise appearance after the welcome Mass. 'You are the light of the world!' he told them in English to loud cheers. Long-term trends show a sharp decline in youth engagement and identification in mainstream religions in Western nations. However, the Catholic Church could be bucking that trend, with some recent studies showing an increased interest among Gen Z. During the youth jamboree, Leo greeted a sea of iPhones in St Peter's Basilica as he met social media influencers described as 'digital missionaries' trying to connect with new audiences. One of them, José De Urquidi, a former craft beer brewer, told CNN that 'like missionaries' of the past who learned new languages and customs, 'Catholic influencers today translate eternal truths into the visual, immediate language of digital natives, meeting Gen Z within their cultural context.' 'It's such a cool experience to connect with people your age from different places all over the world that are living through the same thing and want to experience the same things,' 17-year-old Milena Solano, who had travelled from the United States, told CNN. 'Some people think it's weird to be religious, and I think meeting people that don't think that is so refreshing, and nice to see that you're not the only one,' Solano said. While Francis used to skim the newspapers, Leo is the first pope to wear an Apple watch and write his own emails. He is more conscious than his predecessors of online news and the world of social media – including its pitfalls. 'As you know, today there are algorithms that tell us what we should watch, what we should think, and who our friends should be. And so our relationships become confusing, sometimes anxious,' he told young people on Saturday. At a time of uncertainty – political and otherwise – many young people are also hoping Leo will be a voice for the marginalized. Victoria Aguirre, 17, from the pope's hometown of Chicago, said: 'I would really love for him to pray for my family and all the immigrants and refugees in our country, just for peace and refuge and safety for them.' And as Damian Hernandez, an 18-year-old from New Mexico waited for the pope to arrive, he said it was important for Leo to stress welcoming immigrants, 'particularly with what's happening in the United States with the deportations.' Among the American pilgrims in Rome, there was a special affinity for a pope who speaks their language and culture. Some in the crowd chanted 'Viva il papa' after Leo addressed the crowd in English before Mass on Sunday morning – and the pontiff looked pleased after he was handed a slice of Chicago deep dish pizza from Aurelio's in St. Peter's Square. Before his election, the pope was a frequent visitor to one of their restaurants in Homewood, Illinois. As pope, Leo can't go out for a quiet slice anymore. He went from the relative obscurity of a Rome-based cardinal to one of the most famous people in the world in a matter of hours. While most political leaders like to make a big impact in their first 100 days, Leo seems happy to listen, analyze and wait. This strategy could, in the long run, give him more authority inside the church to press ahead with reforms and as a moral voice on the world stage. 'We are with the young people of Gaza, we are with the young people of Ukraine,' Leo said at the end of Sunday's Mass. As the young people prepared to head home, he told them: 'My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible.' Alessandro Gentile, Witek Rzepczak and Clara Schönthaler contributed reporting.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tan lines are back in fashion. But can you get the look safely?
"I am literally going to apply this fake tan all over my bikini top," Jemma Violet says, as she smears chocolate brown mousse over her chest, neck and halter-neck bikini. I'm watching a TikTok video in which the beauty influencer is explaining how to develop a vibrant set of tan lines - without sunbathing. "Make sure you do your arms and everything... and then wait a couple of hours before washing it off." A flash frame later and Jemma is showing off two very visible white stripes connected to two white triangles poking out of the top of her boob tube. Tan lines glowing, job done. Back in the 90s, I remember the abject horror of having tan lines on display and doing all I could to even mine out - with limited success. Fast forward to the mid 2020s and tan lines have become a fashion statement to be shown off. "When they were out of style they were seen as an imperfection, now they're associated with the summer and an active lifestyle - they've become desirable," Jemma says. "This year it's risen to a whole other level - they're even on the catwalk." Some fake tanners are even using masking tape - the type I use on my skirting boards - to create that crisp line across their skin. "My videos are about getting that tan line safely," Jemma says. "I feel pretty captivating, the look is eye-catching - especially the contrast between the darker skin and the white tan lines." Jemma is one of thousands extolling the virtues of tan lines, with posts notching up more than 200m views on TikTok. But alongside fake tanners like Jemma, there are just as many heading outdoors and under the hot sun, determined to create real tan lines - even if that means burning themselves and suffering the painful consequences. Hashtags such as #sunburntanlines, #sunpoisoning and #sunstroke are popping up alongside videos of young men and women - some in tears - revealing deep red, almost purple, often puckered skin. Some are asking for help and advice, others actually want to show off their badly sunburned bodies. I've even seen one young woman proudly stating, "No pain no gain". Having a visible tan in Victorian times was a clear sign you were poor working class and probably spent most of your time hawking barrels of hay for very little recompense. By the 1920s, a few freckles and a well-placed tan line would probably mean you had moved up a social class or two, and suggested health, wealth and luxurious holidays. By the 1960s and 70s sun lovers were using cooking oil and reflective blankets to deepen their tans. But the links between ultraviolet (UV) radiation and skin cancer were becoming more widely known - and indisputable. So marked the beginning of a complex relationship with the desire to change our skin colour - and while tans are still sought after by millions of us, there is now little doubt a natural one carries with it a hefty element of risk. If someone had lectured Jak Howells about the risks of sunburn a few years ago those warnings would likely have fallen on deaf - and probably sunburnt - ears. "I know it seems strange to be addicted to lying on a sunbed," the 26-year-old from Swansea says, "but I was." It began when Jak was 15, with a few of his older mates in school using them. By the time he was 19 Jak was on sunbeds five times a week, for 18-20 minutes at a time. "My skin was so burned - my face looked like a beetroot. But I kept on going back for more," he says. "I knew in the back of my mind that there was a risk - I wasn't oblivious - but I didn't take it seriously. Jak says he used to enjoy when people complimented him on how he looked and remarked on his tan. "It gave me such a buzz, I loved it," he says. But it was seeing the look of horror on his mum's face, as she examined a bleeding mole on his back, that made Jak realise his love of sunbeds had gone too far. Just before Christmas 2021, Jak was diagnosed with melanoma, one of the most dangerous types of skin cancer, which can spread to other parts of the body. What followed, he says, were two years of "hell and horror". Jak had a complicated operation that involved surgeons cutting away two inches of skin from his lower back, chest and groin. But three months later the cancer was back. Jak then had immunotherapy - which uses the body's own immune system to fight the cancer - and was told if that didn't work, he had only a year to live. "The sickness was horrific - I would lie in bed for days," Jak says. "It felt like I had been hit by a bus. I had such a damaged body, I was a shell of a human. I lived for the next scan, the next treatment." 'Massive backwards step' Melanoma skin cancer rates in the UK have increased by almost a third over the past decade. I asked Megan Fisher from Cancer Research UK why this is happening in an era where the risks posed by harmful rays from the sun and the links to skin cancer are now well known. "It's partly down to those people who may have burnt several decades ago," she explains. "You only need to get sunburnt once every two years to triple your risk of getting skin cancer." As a population, we are growing older, so are "more likely to see more cancers" and "we are spotting them more quickly", she adds. However, there are also concerns part of the increase could be down to the volume of misinformation doing the rounds online. "We've taken a massive backwards step," says Dr Kate McCann, a preventative health specialist. "The message that the sun is good and sunscreen causes cancer is a complete loss of health literacy." She says the current trend to create tan lines by burning in the sun, coupled with false claims that suntan lotion is responsible for the very cancer it's trying to prevent is a "perfect storm". "If I see a child or a young person with sunburn now, I know they have an increased risk of cancer in 20 or 30 years." While there are some ingredients in suntan lotions - like oxybenzone - that can cause environmental damage to coral reefs, there is not evidence to suggest it poses a risk to humans, Dr McCann says. "If you don't want to use a suntan lotion with certain chemicals there are plenty of more natural ones on the market - zinc and mineral based ones - but you can't just stop wearing sunscreen." As a young man Jak relished his tan lines. Now he says he's frightened by the sun and lathers himself up in SPF before even thinking about stepping outdoors. Given the all clear from cancer in December 2022, he now has a career he loves making content and talking about his experiences to raise awareness. Looking back he says he realises what happened to him was "probably self inflicted". "For a long time I blamed myself and I beat myself up about it," he says. "But I have been lucky enough to live through the consequences - and they were horrendous. So maybe now I feel like I've done my time." Back on TikTok, in her own way, beauty influencer and fake tanner Jemma is also trying to prevent others from going through what Jak did. "Skin damage is real," she says. "We're not doing that." A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line More weekend picks Sleep, exercise, hydrate - do we really need to stick to recommended daily doses? Stop telling me to lower my cortisol - it's making me stressed! Emma is doing something she swore she never would - buying her kids vapes
