Thank you.
Good morning, everyone. On behalf of all eye care professionals, I would like to again echo everyone's thoughts that all contact lenses should be considered medical devices, whether they are prescription or non-prescription.
Obviously, the purpose of our position statement today is to thank you again and to support Pat Davidson. In the opinion of the House, the Minister of Health should regulate non-corrective cosmetic contact lenses as medical devices.
I would like to bring up two key points. My first point is regarding anatomy and physiology.
I'd like to start by saying that all corneas are not created equal. Few corneas are spherical, and the average cornea flattens from the apex to the periphery. All eye care professionals measure corneal curvature with a keratometer, and we use this particular instrument to determine the corneal curvature and therefore the fitting or the selection of the base curve. Corneas vary. Contact lens base curve selection varies. And these choices are absolutely necessary to customize the fitting of the contact lens to the patient.
Manufacturers of prescription contact lenses are aware of the differences in corneal curvature, so they provide a wide range of products and lens parameters for eye care professionals from which to choose. Once we have selected the correct base curve, once we have fitted the contact lens, it is then our responsibility to monitor the cornea-contact lens relationship, always keeping in mind that it is the corneal integrity and the health of that person's eye that we have to maintain.
The sale of plano cosmetic contact lenses by unauthorized persons has resulted in poorly fitted lenses in the past, and will continue, if we don't move forward. What that means to me as a contact lens fitter is either the lens is going to be fitting too flat or the lens is going to be fitting too steep, which means too tightly. The ill-fitting contact lens is going to result in complications due to hypoxia, which is a reduction in oxygen to the corneal tissue and surface, or to anoxia, which is an absolute reduction in oxygen. This manifests itself on behalf of the patient as marked reduced visual acuity, number one, and corneal edema.
The reason we see so well is that the cornea, or the window of the eye, is transparent and allows the light to pass through. As soon as you get corneal edema, you lose your corneal transparency, your visual acuity is reduced, and on top of that, you get a breakdown in surface epithelium. As a teacher, I am fully aware of the fact that an intact surface epithelium is our best defence against a major corneal event.
At this point I am hoping, through all these presentations, that we all know that every person is unique in terms of corneal topography and tear chemistry. I believe it is the responsibility of eye care professionals to consider all these factors when it comes to selecting the contact lens, the modality of wear of the contact lens, and finally, even the selection of the contact lens solution. Therefore, to me, moving forward with this bill will put the dispensing of non-corrective contact lenses back into the hands of the eye care professional, where it really should be.
My second point, just very quickly, is the demographic target market, which is the teens and tweens. Tweens are children between childhood and adolescence, usually ages 8 to 12. This is the emergence of a totally new market that will in time become our future adult Canadian consumers. Most of the plano cosmetic contact lenses are marketed to this particular age group.
This is a market of pre-adolescents who are maturing very quickly. I don't know about you folks, but the 10-year-olds of today are certainly a lot more mature than they used to be in my day. They're very anxious to develop and cultivate a sophisticated self-image. They know fashion. They know trends. They seek role models.
I believe that if Justin Bieber came out with a whole set of cosmetic contact lenses, thousands of young girls and boys would purchase them. The media messages today suggest to these girls and boys what it is like to grow up in today's world. This makes them so vulnerable to sophisticated marketing plans.The need to move forward and protect the eye care of Canadians is of utmost importance to the Opticians Association of Canada.
In conclusion, we are truly honoured to be here to support the safety initiative that is definitely in the public interest. We stand as part of the eye health care community to support this.
Thank you very much for having us here today.