Simon Jones: Colour me bad

Optics probably has something of a love-hate relationship with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). In one instance it will be taking a Geordie Shore influencer to task over cosmetic contact lenses and in another, pulling up a multiple about overstating the effects of blue light exposure.

Thankfully, the advertising regulator seldom sees the need to get involved in sector goings on, but when it does, the effects are usually long-lasting. So, when a Suffolk-based optometrist turned up in the rulings for misleading claims about dyslexia and tinted lenses, it felt like ‘here we go again’.

The efficacy of coloured lenses and overlays to treat visual stress is a fiercely contested subject. Critics say there is a lack of any evidence to support their effectiveness, but thousands of practices claim to use tints to reduce the impact of Meares-Irlen syndrome on satisfied individuals.