General
Beware of "Fashion" Contact Lenses - 12/31/2009
BEWARE OF "FASHION" CONTACT LENSES - December 30, 2009
Recently, a CNMI resident complained to the Office of the Attorney General concerning her granddaughter’s purchase of "fashion" contact lenses from a retail store (Bali Fashion) on Middle Road in Saipan. The lenses were sold to the young woman without a prescription. She developed serious eye complications and had to receive medical treatment including diagnosis and prescribed medicine. The Attorney General’s Investigative Unit began an investigation and learned that the merchant was in fact, selling the "fashion" lenses to customers who did not have prescriptions for the lenses. Bali Fashion cooperated fully with the investigation and numerous pairs of lenses were removed from the stream of commerce. Bali Fashion has ceased selling the contact lenses and is currently in discussions with the Office of the Attorney General to reach an agreement as to compensation for persons injured by the illegal sales. IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED CONTACT LENSES (EVEN "FASHION" LENSES) IN THE CNMI FROM A MERCHANT WITHOUT A VALID PRESCRIPTION YOU SHOULD SEEK A MEDICAL EYE EXAM IMMEDIATELY. The sale of contact lenses, even so-called "fashion" lenses, requires a prescription in the CNMI. Any merchant in the CNMI who sells contact lenses (even if the lens power is -0.00) without a prescription from a licensed medical practitioner is violating CNMI law as well as federal regulations and should be reported to the authorities immediately.
The Honorable Governor Benigno Fitial