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Thread: Canadian Government Acts to Regulate Cosmetic Contacts

  1. #1
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    Canadian Government Acts to Regulate Cosmetic Contacts

    On the agenda this fall, 2011,.....a link to a list of private member's bills for consideration. See #8 on the list. Patricia Davidson(CPC): C-313, An act to amend the Food and Drugs Act.....

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/insi...-part-one.html



    It's about freaking time, this was dealt with!

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    It's a long and winding political road, but finally. Cosmetic Plano Contact Lenses now fall under the same regulations as POWERED contact lenses! Hopefully, all inventory will be seized or off the shelves of your local hairdresser, nail shop, tattoo parlour, and all head shops across Canada, before Haloween 2012, and no one will lose any vision!

    We're comin to shut you down!

    Next......the internet!

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    It is official......as of December 17,2012, Bill C-313-An act to amend the Food and Drug Act received royal assent on Friday.

    Non-Corrective contact lenses are now deemed Medical Devices, whereas they should have been classified all along.

    I would suggest that ECPs contact your local associations, and volunteer, if asked, to scoop up and assist in the "seize inventory" from your local head shop, adult toy store, and hairdressers............where they never should have been in the first place. I would also consider reporting locations known to carry these contact lenses, to your provincial association, and/or your local RCMP detachment(if you feel that your association will be complacent).

    Merry Xmas!
    Eyes wide open

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    Yeah , I am sure they will get right on that , but could we wait till they deal with the exisiting discipline cases from 5 & 6 years ago that still sit on their books?

    Multi-tasking beyond inner office politics is not their strong point.

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    Quote Originally Posted by uncut View Post
    It's a long and winding political road, but finally. Cosmetic Plano Contact Lenses now fall under the same regulations as POWERED contact lenses! Hopefully, all inventory will be seized or off the shelves of your local hairdresser, nail shop, tattoo parlour, and all head shops across Canada, before Haloween 2012, and no one will lose any vision!

    We're comin to shut you down!

    Next......the internet!

    I am curious as to how this private members bill got started ? It's a good idea for sure, a foot in the door to proving risk of harm, although I am mystified as to why this area deserves any more attention than RX contacts which are already class 2 but are readily available to the public and mass advertised by unregulated vendors ?

    The dispensing of Rx contacts by unregulated vendors bypasses licensed ECPs and was not being policed so whats the point of adding more work load to a non-existant police workforce ?
    Last edited by idispense; 12-21-2012 at 10:55 PM.

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    Although a positive step...Uncut, let me know how you and Chuck Norris make out after you snatch up the 'seized inventory' from the tattoo parlour.

    After the RCMP pick themselves up off the floor from laughter, I'm sure they will get right on it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by HindSight2020 View Post
    Although a positive step...Uncut, let me know how you and Chuck Norris make out after you snatch up the 'seized inventory' from the tattoo parlour.

    After the RCMP pick themselves up off the floor from laughter, I'm sure they will get right on it.
    I get your point, but most sources will stop selling, voluntarily. I'm sure that uncooperative vendors will be addressed summarily.

    As for your sentence about the RCMP laughing...............not a chance, their fraud dept. has been busy scooping up counterfeit and illegal articles of all types.

    No laughing, except for the look on the faces of the "legitimate" mall merchants that are uninformed, or got greedy and bought inventory out of trunks of cars.

    On a positive note, we shouldn't have vision loss headlines, next Halloween.
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    Quote Originally Posted by idispense View Post
    I am curious as to how this private members bill got started ? It's a good idea for sure, a foot in the door to proving risk of harm, although I am mystified as to why this area deserves any more attention than RX contacts which are already class 2 but are readily available to the public and mass advertised by unregulated vendors ?

    The dispensing of Rx contacts by unregulated vendors bypasses licensed ECPs and was not being policed so whats the point of adding more work load to a non-existant police workforce ?
    A not-approved(unsafe) contact lens, because it had no power, was able to be imported, and therefore sold, was the loophole in the rule. The same contact with a power, unapproved could not be imported. This change in rules merely places Plano contacts under the same import, and subsequently sale of said contacts,.........as contact lenses that have power.
    Eyes wide open

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    Quote Originally Posted by uncut View Post
    A not-approved(unsafe) contact lens, because it had no power, was able to be imported, and therefore sold, was the loophole in the rule. The same contact with a power, unapproved could not be imported. This change in rules merely places Plano contacts under the same import, and subsequently sale of said contacts,.........as contact lenses that have power.
    I do fully understand the above statements Uncut and I thank the Association involvement and the co-operation of the optometrists and ophthalmologists who attended the legislature and spoke on behalf of this Bill to get it approved, this is no small feat !

    These people are to be congratulated for their persistence and patience and foresight to protect the public on this matter, especially when the public does not know they are at risk .


    Still there are thousands and thousands of Rx contacts being openly advertised and openly dispensed into regulated provinces by known unregulated vendors and I am disturbed by the inaction on this matter.

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    The passing of this Bill is an accomplishment that is not to be made light of , I only wished that the powers that be would remember this is a member driven organization and a self regulating profession and as such membership does have a say in how Regulators are to operate and how they are to adhere to policy, rules and governance.

    When we elect officials to represent us, it is done so to see that the governing Acts are carried out . We hire people to carry out these rules and regulations and enforce them and we pay them to do this .

    Why are there outstanding discipline cases that are many years old still on the books ? Why are known unregulated vendors selling into regulated provinces and why has it been allowed for so many years ? Why do Regulators ignore the ACT and devalue our licenses and prohibit us from asking questions ?

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    Outstanding discipline cases, idispense?......would be in which Province?......A appropriate topic for a separate thread!

    Your last question is a good one..........again a separate thread would be ok............perhaps the question needs to be reworded, so that it can get on the agenda. Sometimes it is when the question is asked, or the person responsible isn't present to be able to respond.
    Eyes wide open

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    Yep that's gonna really help us, I should think about retiring now since I'm gonna be rich from selling Plano colour contacts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by charan View Post
    Yep that's gonna really help us, I should think about retiring now since I'm gonna be rich from selling Plano colour contacts.
    I am sure that all that new-found revenue will enhance your bottom line...............and hasten your retirement date!

    I reiterate that the majority of the contact lenses that will disappear will be the dangerous ones.............that could never get medical device approval to be used in Canada.

    In respect to your situation......................it means that your little relative won't be showing up at home, after a visit to a tat parlour, with a pair of contacts(in vials that were obviously previously opened), without knowing how to put them in, or worse...........shown how by the clerk at the tat parlour!
    Eyes wide open

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    Unfortunately, although this is a great accomplishment that has taken about ten years , it is only a beginning as the C-313 is a Federal Bill and does not apply at the Provincial levels of prescribing and dispensing.

    Perhaps the Provincial regulators and Provincial Health Ministeries might take guidance from the Federals but I might not live that long and won't be holding my breath.

    I might also point out that many Class II devices only require Self Certification by the manufacturer and it may be based on the European equivalent standards not strictly Canadian standards .

    I also have a recollection of chatting with Health Canada a few years ago about these medical device licenses and if memory serves correctly, at that time, no Class II Medical device licenses had been issued. I stand to be corrected.
    Last edited by idispense; 12-23-2012 at 11:07 AM.

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    Essentially the passing of C-313 only means that manufacturers will have to apply for a medical device license and importers and distributors of non-corrective contact lenses will have to apply for a medical device establishment license. Some labelling laws may also have to be complied with . From the application forms , these do not look like onerous application forms and these may only require a declaration of self certification or European equivalency .

    Is this the place to file complaints and ask for enforcement ?: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/compl...eng.php#a5.4.2

    Which Provincial Regulator would like to adopt the Federal standard first and step up to the plate to administer the fitting adjustment and prescribing of non-corrective contact lenses and do it in less than ten years time ?

    Last edited by idispense; 12-23-2012 at 11:05 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by charan View Post
    Yep that's gonna really help us, I should think about retiring now since I'm gonna be rich from selling Plano colour contacts.
    The intent of this regulation is about doing the right thing, it's about doing the moral and ethical thing to protect the public. The people who backed this and stayed with it through to the end did that. This has nothing to do with your making money , in fact it will cost you as it will come out of your taxes and license fees . That is a cost of self governance.

    Over the long haul it may help you make money in a restricted licensure environment, but not now in this environment of two tiered dispensing that seems to allow unregulated vendors selling into regulated provinces and violating local applicable laws.

    On the subject of two tiered dispensing an interesting case was disciplined in Ontario and you can read it under the 'Discipline" section of that college. It is difficult to tell why he was disciplined when you consider the parallels to unlicensed internet vendors . Someone might make a case to say that his only real crime was to be licensed . One of the charges dealt with not turning in known offenders . Well does the regulator body not know of all the unlicensed internet vendors advertising and dispensing in Ontario ? Is the Regulator exempt ? Is the regulator body made up in part of Licensed Opticians ? Clearly the participants in this case required discipline , but this case clearly highlights the injustice to all opticians and the public by allowing a two tiered system in favor of the unlicensed . The very people who judged this case might also want to judge their own requirement to report unlicensed dispensing offenders to themselves ? Perhaps they might charge every licensed dispenser with failure to report if any licensed optician has not reported internet dispensing ?

    A subject for thought and a seperate thread .
    Last edited by idispense; 12-23-2012 at 11:36 AM.

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