Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion introduced by my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton. This is the member I know from the Standing Committee on Health. It is the role of each member of this committee, on which I have the privilege of sitting, to raise awareness and bring up this kind of situation in which products could be sold before proper analyses or studies are done. I thank her for doing so.
What she is proposing today is that Health Canada should conduct more studies on the use of cosmetic contact lenses. The problem is that cosmetic contact lenses are considered to be cosmetic products instead of medical devices.
According to the optometric, ophthalmological and optical associations, the potential adverse effects of contact lenses on the user's health are the same whether they are corrective or cosmetic, since both types come in contact with the surface of the eye.
This is why these associations have been asking since 2000 for all contact lenses to be considered health products requiring more than cosmetic care. Since customers can purchase lenses without consulting a professional, eye-care professionals say that these people are endangering the health of their eyes. Currently, users of cosmetic lenses that are not prescribed by a vision specialist are thought to be more at risk than contact lens users who have consulted a specialist.
I would also like to recall the fact that in Quebec, various laws require consumers to have a prescription for corrective glasses and corrective contact lenses. Consumers are not required to consult a vision specialist for cosmetic lenses.
What the member for Sarnia—Lambton has brought up is that cosmetic contact lenses must currently respect the quality regulations set out in the Food and Drug Act specifically as they apply to cosmetic products. If the product presents a danger of any kind to the consumer, Health Canada must take action and issue a warning or have the product taken off the market. After Health Canada issued its warning, several pharmacies decided to pull cosmetic contact lenses from their shelves.
That being said, Health Canada has already examined the possibility of considering cosmetic contact lenses as medical devices, just like corrective contact lenses. Heath Canada officials concluded that, under current legislation, cosmetic contact lenses must still be considered a cosmetic product.
The motion put forward by my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton raises several questions concerning the terms and objectives of this motion. Do eye care professionals want this product to be regulated in order to explain to consumers basic rules regarding hygiene, use and the dangers of contact lenses, whether cosmetic or corrective? Is the product dangerous because of its poor quality or because people do not know how to use it properly?
The information and facts provided by the hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton seem to suggest that cosmetic contact lenses should be provided on prescription only, in order to ensure their proper use. The complexity of this problem lies in the fact that there is not enough information about the use of cosmetic contact lenses and the health problems they have actually caused.
However, it is clear from information obtained from various eye care professional associations and Health Canada, as well as from the information provided by my colleague, that the improper use of cosmetic contact lenses may pose a risk to health, including the health of adolescents.
It has been shown that adolescents have a tendency to share lenses, which immediately increases the risk of developing various types of eye infections. Does this mean that the product itself is dangerous or that the improper use of the product poses a danger to young people? To ensure more appropriate use of cosmetic lenses by youth, practical health and hygienic advice should be provided by an eye specialist when these products are sold.
However, this is far from being a matter for federal regulation given that the services of eye specialists, as I explained before, are governed by provincial professional codes.
For this reason, the Bloc Québécois would like to note, first of all, that the health of eyes is vital. Consequently, it is important to clearly define the objectives of this motion and its implications for legislation governing medical devices.