Impaired vision on global scale

Impaired vision is affecting 280 million drivers worldwide, a meeting of the European Federation of Optical industries (EUROM 1) in Switzerland heard last week.

Manufacturers were also told that five million people were going blind every year because of cataract, and that 33 per cent of workers had impaired vision, causing a loss of productivity of $269bn. The meeting, where the European Vision Council project was approved and put in motion, was attended by EUROMCONTACT, ECOO, the ESA, and The Vision Council.

EUROM 1 president Vittorio Tabacchi said the European optical market was struggling despite growth in France and Germany, and a further meeting was scheduled for October 'to determine a common European action'.