AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced May 7 that his office’s Consumer Protection Division has secured assurances of voluntary compliance with 37 store owners and wholesale distribution companies that agreed to stop selling contact lenses in Texas that are allegedly dangerous and unlawful.
Retailers can only legally sell contacts to consumers who have prescriptions for them. About 41 million American consumers wear contact lenses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and wearing contacts without prescriptions could harm them. Risks include blindness, infections, allergic reactions and even the loss of an eye.
“My office’s contact lens sweep is a reminder to Texans to safeguard their vision by using only contact lenses prescribed for them by a licensed practitioner,” Paxton said in a statement. “We will continue to take appropriate action against retailers and businesses that endanger consumers by selling unlawful lenses. We strongly urge anyone who has found retailers selling lenses without a prescription to contact our office.”
Consumers involved in the case will receive refunds from the stores Paxton settled with, and the stores will pay $140,000 in civil penalties.