Contact lens firms are 'ripping us off'

0 comments   Friday, July 25, 2008

Contact lens firms are 'ripping us off'


Same Same, But Different ?

Millions Of Britons who wear disposable contact lenses are the victims of a £250million annual rip-off, it has been claimed.

Industry insiders have revealed that expensive 'long-life' disposable lenses are exactly the same as cheap 'one-day' lenses.

The long-life lenses, which are sold to be reused for a week or a month, cost around £2.41 each - close to £5 a pair.

However, the daily disposable lenses, which are effectively the same lens, sell for 50p each - around £1 a day.

All these lenses are made of the same material in exactly the same proportions - 42 per cent polymer and 58 per cent water.

The only difference is that the daily versions have fractionally different diameters and curves. This has no bearing on whether they can be reused and makes little or no difference to the wearer.

The near identical nature of the lenses is one of the industry's best kept secrets, at least as far as Britain and Europe are concerned.

However, in the U.S. the contact lens companies Johnson & Johnson and Bausch & Lomb have both faced legal action over the issue.

Both have made multi-million dollar payments to disgruntled customers, who argued they had been misled, in order to settle the cases. In Britain, Johnson & Johnson sells the 1-day Acuvue, to be thrown away each day, the Acuvue, to be reused for one or two weeks, and the Sureview, to be reused over one month.

The company admitted to the Daily Mail that there is no medical reason why the daily lenses could not be reused and worn as long as the other brands, provided they were disinfected in the same way.

.. read more here