WASHINGTON, D.C.--Late last month the U.S. Senate passed a bill declaring that all contact lenses should be classified as medical devices. If the companion bill in the House of Representatives (H.R. 371) passes, consumers would require a prescription from a licensed eyecare professional to purchase cosmetic/plano CLs.

Plano contact lenses were categorized as Class II or Class III medical devices by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until two years ago. In April 2003, however, the FDA re-categorized non-vision correcting cosmetic CLs as cosmetic devices, which made their regulation much less stringent.

A number of eyecare organizations supported the measure, including professional, patient-advocacy and industry groups.