National Eye Week, which will take place during the week commencing Monday 9 November, is being sponsored this year by Simplyhealth and will focus on lifestyle issues that can affect eyesight.

Eyecare Trust chairman Iain Anderson said: “Many people are aware of the impact that smoking and drinking can have on eye health, but there is very low awareness of the effects that other conditions – such as obesity – can have on eyesight. By focusing on some of the lesser-known issues we hope to encourage more people to care for their health and, most importantly, have regular eye examinations.”

The sponsorship is making it possible to conduct a far-reaching survey on lifestyle, highlighting factors that most people would not necessarily associate with good vision and healthy eyes.

All practitioners who are ‘Friends’ of the Eyecare Trust will receive a National Eye Week pack containing a range of material to help them benefit from the interest generated by the central campaigns, as well as items enabling them to mount their own campaigns and achieve coverage in local media.

Although the summer this year has been disappointing, the Eyecare Trust nevertheless spearheaded a new campaign to raise awareness not only of the need to protect children’s eyes from harmful UV rays, but also the importance of purchasing suitable and safe sunglasses.

A OnePoll survey commissioned by the Trust found that almost half of all parents rarely or never make sure that their children wear sunglasses. Even more alarmingly, many parents admit to buying children’s sunglasses either from a street vendor or even a toy shop. In the London area, for example, the survey showed that 28 percent of children’s sunglasses were purchased from these sources.

The message from the Eyecare Trust was clear – to enure that your child has sunglasses that fit properly and provide full protection, visit your optician.