The business of contact lenses

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There was much to learn. At 9 per cent of adults, the penetration of contact lenses is low in the UK compared to Scandinavia, the US and, notably, Japan, where more than 20 per cent of the population wear contact lenses. For Ivins, the reason for the shortfall was the ‘triple A effect’ – awareness, accessibility and affordability.

In fact the number of UK wearers rose steeply in the mid-90s but growth had not been sustained, mainly due to dropout from lens wear. Research by the ACLM and Optician showed that as many people have stopped wearing contact lenses as are currently using them. Ivins put the five-year dropout rate at 30-50 per cent and said the primary reason had traditionally been comfort. Dropout among the presbyopic age group was also a factor.