Online sales of contact lenses

From the Straits Times:

Singapore - March 9, 2009 
By Serene Luo

Stop online sale of contact lens. 
Blogshops warned to stop contact lens sales
Ministry tells online sellers to remove all related posts at once.

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.

Contact lenses online controversy

This news was from a few years back, but it shows how blogshops operate outside mainstream channels and pose competitive threats to established professionals. 

From: http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20090210-120853.html

>> ASIAONE / HEALTH / NEWS / STORY Tue, Feb 10, 2009 The Sunday Times Look out for contact lenses sold online [Top: Owner of anna-blogshop Anne Catherine Christy, 18, imports coloured cosmetic contact lenses from Korea.] By Elizabeth Soh EYE doctors and opticians are reporting a spike in eye infections among youngsters who have bought coloured contact lenses from online sellers. Under Singapore law, only registered optometrists and opticians can sell or prescribe contact lenses. But over the past two years, hundreds of unregistered Internet 'blog shops' have sprung up selling novelty cosmetic contact lenses that claim to add sparkle to eyes or change their colour. The lenses are delivered in the mail, with little or no consumer aftercare provided to ensure users do not overuse their lenses or neglect hygiene. The result is that many users are falling victim to a range of eye problems. Music student Daphne Tan, 20, has sworn never to buy lenses online again after she ended up with a corneal ulcer, which causes acute burning pain and, if not arrested, can lead to total loss of sight. 'It was excruciating. I was so frightened, I wondered if I would go blind. When I asked the blog shop for compensation, the person simply closed down her shop. And I never heard from her again.' Arts undergraduate Lee Jia Min, 21, has suffered at least four bouts of sore and itchy eyes after buying more than 10 pairs of Korean and Japanese lenses from various blog shops over the past two years. 'There was one pair which made my eyes hurt the moment I put them on,' she said. ' I immediately threw them away.' A search on beauty forums such as cozycot.com and flowerpod.com unearthed at least 10 complaints of blog-shop buys that led to eye infections. Optometrists also reported a rise in the number of individuals seeing them with eye problems related to cosmetic contact lens wear. Like many of his colleagues, Mr William Choo, 44, a trained optometrist and the operations manager of Nanyang Optical, has seen a spike in those coming in with symptoms ranging from dryness to bloodshot eyes. 'Most are youngsters who abuse their eyes by wearing cosmetic contact lenses daily, for extremely long hours,' he said. These blog shops often peddle the latest rage - coloured lenses from Korean companies - for as little as $9 to $20 a pair. The lenses come in a dizzying array of colours, claim to enlarge and brighten eyes like 'your favourite Japanese or Korean celebrity', and last an entire year. The blog shops are being established at a rapid rate. According to undergraduate A. Ling, 21, who runs sglenses, a popular blog shop selling South Korean contact lenses, about 20 new shops open every few days. They are set up mostly by Internet-savvy Singaporean students, often as young as 15. They simply start a blog, source trendy products cheaply from suppliers in China and Korea, upload photographs and basic product information, provide online payment details and are open for business. Many say it is 'easy money'. With no rent or overheads, sellers can mark up prices by up to 60 per cent and charge a handling fee of $1.50 to $3 per sale. 'I make about a thousand dollars a month, give or take,' said Mr Ling, whose blog gets over 200 hits a day. 'I run it like a real business, doing advertising on Internet forums and other blog shops. I also sell my lenses worldwide.' The existence of these blog shops is a thorn in the side of registered optical professionals who operate in an altogether different price bracket. Their price for a monthly supply of Johnson and Johnson's Acuvue Define daily lenses, which comes with a free eye examination, is about $120. They cannot compete on price but maintain that they carry products with proven safety records and high manufacturing standards. Madam Seah Siew Leng, 39, an optician at Pavilion Optical in Marine Parade, who has been in the business for more than 10 years, said that for safety reasons, optical shops here do not carry certain brands from companies which are headquartered overseas. 'We are not sure if these brands are reliable in the event that there are problems with their lenses,' she said. When informed of the Optometrists and Opticians Act that outlaws lens sales by unregistered operators, eight of the 10 blog-shop owners interviewed said they would stop selling cosmetic contact lenses. Owner of anna-blogshop Anne Catherine Christy, 18, who has just completed her O levels, said: 'If there is such a rule, I will definitely stop selling them. I'll just find other things to sell.' She currently also sells F-cup cookies, priced at $35 for a box of 30, which claim to enhance the bustline. But she added that they are sold as a 'novelty biscuit, rather than a medical device'. The Consumers Association of Singapore has advised those who want to buy from online shops to deal with registered businesses as far as possible, to always get contact details of the sellers and suppliers, and to exercise caution. Once lenses have been bought, eye professionals advise that users should diligently follow wearing guidelines. Dr Francis Oen, 47, a senior consultant at the Singapore National Eye Centre, said: 'Wearing cosmetic contact lenses in the first place increases the risk of mild eye infection. The pigmentation on the coloured lenses aids the accumulation of dirt, so you need to be extremely hygienic.' Mr Choo of Nanyang Optical, who is registered with the Optometrists and Opticians Board, added: 'As opticians, we can help you if you suffer from any kind of infection when you wear cosmetic contact lenses. Your eyesight is probably the most precious thing you own.' esoh@sph.com.sg This story was first published in thesundaytimes on Feb 8, 2009.

Blogshops in trouble after contact lenses seized

Another instance of blogshops exhibiting legitmacy issues.

From: http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20111030-307798.html

Blogshops in trouble after contact lenses seized

SINGAPORE - If you are thinking of buying contact lenses from blogshops or making a quick buck selling them online, think again. You may end up losing your money, as it is illegal to import contact lenses without a license and such lenses will be confiscated by the authorities if discovered. The Straits Times (ST) reported that at least three teenage blogshop owners have had their contact lenses seized by Custom officers and are now facing irate customers demanding their money back. According to the ST report, at least 20 suppliers were affected after investigations were carried out by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH). Since August last year, more than 1,600 pairs of contact lenses have been seized from four unlicensed importers. One of the distributors, 17-year-old Jenny, told ST that she set up an online shop selling iris-enlarging contact lenses from South Korea and participated in a mass order with 10 other blogshops in August. Each ordered around 50 pairs of lenses. All the lenses were confiscated by the authorities and now Jenny is unable to get back her money back to refund her customers, who paid her in advance. They are now threatening to make a police report against her. She admitted that she knew what she was doing was illegal, but went ahead because of the draw of making easy money. Previously, she had placed three similar orders successfully, earning about $300 each time. She bought the lenses for $5 per pair, and sold them for $15. Although those involved have yet to be prosecuted, blogshop owners found guilty of illegally importing contact lenses can be fined up to $50,000 and jailed for two years. For the buyers of such lenses, Ms Irish Ng, who runs online scam alert site safeblogshopper.com, told ST that as buying lenses online is illegal in the first place, it is hard for customers to get their money back if they do not get what they paid for. In Singapore, an eye examination by a registered optometrist or optician is required before a user can be fitted with contact lenses. There have been documented cases of the usage of illegally obtained contact lenses leading to eye complications and even blindness. HSA said that it has been stepping up its checks following a recent spate of cases involving counterfeit contact lenses.