Ed Schilling, Executive Director of the CLC, is not surprised. "The heavy advertising and marketing efforts of laser eye surgery practices have increased interest in alternatives to glasses," he says. "We're hearing from everyone: manufacturers, eye care professionals, and consumers, who call our information line or visit our web site; people looking for alternatives are increasingly turning to contacts as the vision correction option of choice."

Risks alone are not the only reason patients are switching to contacts. Boomer-age candidates, particularly those with early presbyopia (also known as "Aging Eyes"), are surprised to learn that, even after laser eye surgery, they will likely continue to need glasses for reading or to compensate for the vision changes which occur around the age of forty.

According to Dr. Barry Weiner, an optometrist and advisor to the CLC, these patients are opting to forgo expensive surgical procedures in favor of contact lenses. "With the newest contact lenses offering greater comfort, ease of use, and the ability to correct for presbyopia and astigmatism, my patients are asking themselves whether the risks and cost of surgery are worth it. Increasingly, the answer is 'No.'"

Dr. Weiner also sees a growing interest in contact lens use among patients who have already had laser eye surgery. "When surgery doesn't achieve perfect vision for them, my patients are asking for contacts to compensate for over- or under-correction, rather than undergoing additional operations," Weiner says. "And because they like the way they look without glasses, they'll also choose contacts for presbyopia when their vision changes," he adds.

The CLC web site, www.contactlenscouncil.org, offers information on both contact lenses and laser eye surgery for consumers. For more information, people can also call the CLC toll-free information line, at 1-800-884-4CLC.

The CLC is a non-profit organization serving as an educational resource on vision correction for consumers and is devoted to promoting the safe use of contact lenses. The CLC is sponsored by Alcon Laboratories, Allergan Optical, Bausch & Lomb, CIBA Vision, Cooper Vision, and Vistakon (a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc.). The American Optometric Association, Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists, and the Contact Lens Society of America are advisory members of the CLC.