The UK contact lens market was worth £194.4m in 2008, representing an increase of 4 per cent from 2007, according the latest market statistics from 15 contributing members of the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers (ACLM).
Figures reveal that in 2008 the market was made up of the sale of 515 million contact lenses, up from 2007 when 483 million contact lenses were sold.
In 2008 market value comprised daily disposables (55 per cent), soft frequent replacement lenses (14 per cent), silicone hydrogels (23 per cent), soft traditional lenses (3 per cent) and rigid lenses (5 per cent).
The growing popularity of SiH lenses was reflected in sales during 2008, with the number of people using them up 21 per cent to 925,896.
Data from the Association also revealed that the number of contact lenses wearers had risen from 1.6 million in 1992 to 3.5 million in 2008, representing 7.2 per cent of the adult population.
The data revealed that traditional CLs fell significantly in the past 12 months in terms of market value (-21 per cent) and in the number of wearers (109,443 in 2008 compared to 139,337 in 2007).
Moreover, the number of wearers of frequent replacement lenses (weekly-monthly) also fell by 9 per cent in 2008 (810,903) and market value was also down to 11 per cent.