CooperVision lobbies against contact lens legislation

Fairport, NY-CooperVision has launched a lobbying campaign in state legislatures throughout the United States to defeat proposals that would allow for the sale of contact lenses in what the company considers poorly regulated and potentially unsafe distribution channels.

This legislation is intended to prevent contact lens manufacturers from determining how best to distribute and sell their products, forcing them to sell their lenses to any mail-order company, Internet retailer, pharmacy, buying club, department store, and mass merchandise outlet that orders their product.

Now introduced in several states-including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Utah, and West Virginia-the legislation would subject non-compliant manufacturers and, in many cases, optometrists to civil or criminal penalties based on ambiguous and undefined standards such as "commercially reasonable" and "nondiscriminatory manner."