Blair backs National Eye Week campaign

In a statement issued to the Eyecare Information Service, which has attracted around &\#163;60,000 in sponsorship for this year's events (News, August 6), Mr Blair welcomed the campaign and said he was confident of its success. He stressed the need for individual care and public awareness as 'effective weapons in reducing the large numbers of people who needlessly suffer eye damage and poor vision as a result of complacency and ignorance'. With 10 days to go before the event's official launch at the Association of British Dispensing Opticians' annual conference on September 27, posters appeared on London Underground trains and buses this week advertising the campaign. They will be seen at 146 key sites on London Underground stations, and on 140 bus-backs until October 15. The poster launch marks another first for the organisers who have invested around &\#163;35,000 from sponsorship funds to maximise the campaign's publicity. A spokesman for EIS said although the advertising drive was 'sponsorship dependent' for National Eye Week 2000, it was hoped to extend the poster campaign to include regional sites next year. He added that EIS members had already been sent promotional packs containing a poster, public information leaflets, and a sample press release to promote practices via local media. New features for this year, he said, included a special Daily Telegraph report on eye care and eyewear, scheduled for publication on October 12, and a celebrity eyewear auction to be held at the ABDO conference. The results of a survey conducted into the cost of 'computer-vision syndrome' in the UK will also be published to coincide with the campaign's launch.