Blogshops Warned to Stop Contact Lens Sales

FF Fashion

10 March 2009
The Straits Times



Ministry tells online sellers to remove all related posts at once
By Serene Luo


THE Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday morning warned unlicensed blogshops to stop selling cosmetic contact lenses.

The Optometrists and Opticians Board of the ministry sent e-mail letters, which The Straits Times obtained, to blogshop owners to remove all contact lens-related posts from their blogs immediately as well.

If they did not, they could run foul of the Optometrists and Opticians Act, and face jail of up to six months or fines up to $25,000, or both, for prescribing and dispensing contact lenses without being qualified to do so.

The cosmetic lenses are popular with teenage girls, but some users have developed complications, such as corneal ulcers or conjunctivitis, from wearing them.

Last month, The Straits Times' forum published a letter from the board, warning buyers to buy lenses only from licensed and qualified sellers.

The cosmetic lenses are being sold on personal blogs, which have become a platform for teens and youth as young as in primary school to sell clothing and accessories. Their customers are usually other youth.

This is the second reported action taken by a government agency on casual, typically unregistered, online businesses.

About two years ago, two blogshops selling food products were asked by the National Environment Agency to remove mention of their wares online. The law prohibits food prepared at home from being sold to the public because of food safety concerns.

Checks by The Straits Times last week found there were at least 10 online 'stores', mostly run by young women in their teens or early 20s, selling cosmetic contact lenses.

These lenses, which are usually imported from South Korea, may or may not be powered but reportedly make the users' eyes look 'bigger and more sparkling'.

But a Sunday Times article last month reported that eye doctors and opticians had seen a spike in eye infections in users who had bought cosmetic lenses from online sellers.

In Singapore, only qualified and licensed practitioners are allowed to prescribe and sell contact lenses.

When contacted, a number of blogshop owners said they would sell the lenses only to overseas customers.

A few also said they had certificates from suppliers to prove the lenses were 'authentic' and not faked goods.

One blogshop owner, a 21-year-old who wanted to be known only as Miss Tan, said she would stop all sales after completing her current order this week, as many customers had already paid.

She added that even though she had announced on her blog that she was stopping sales because of legal restrictions, a number of youths, some aged just 12, had approached her to supply them with lenses to sell. 'They are completely unaware of current affairs and news,' she said.

A board spokesman said that if sellers continued their trade in contact lenses, 'enforcement action may be taken against them'.

It conceded that enforcement against the online sale of contact lenses would be 'highly challenging', since owners of websites are hard to trace, but it would issue stern warning letters to those it can trace.

It has also informed contact lens suppliers and companies to supply contact lenses only to qualified sellers, its spokesman said.