In focus: Adjusted views on variable focus eyewear

Last week’s General Optical Council clarification of its position on Adlens’ Alavarez lens-based adjustable focus glasses was the latest development in long-running litigious debates between the regulator, the British eyewear manufacturer and the government.

Adlens brought the issue to the fore once again on May 11 with a press statement which claimed ‘significant changes to British law’ would dramatically increase the availability of its ‘cutting edge’ products across the UK. It said the GOC had ‘reversed’ its decision not to include the products in exemptions made to the Opticians Act 1989 which permit the sale of ready-made reading glasses.

Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, Lord Newby (pictured below), lobbied the house on behalf of Adlens in February 2016 (News 09.02.16), presenting a private members bill to amend the 1989 Optician’s Act to encompass adjustable spectacles. He said he was pleased by the change of heart, but still had questions to ask.