Missouri’s attorney general has filed suit against two businesses for allegedly selling cosmetic contact lenses without a prescription.
Investigators with the state’s Consumer Protection Division inspected costume and novelty stores across the state in September and early October following a complaint by the Missouri Board of Optometry, according to a press release.
Both Celebrate the Seasons in St. Louis and Gotcha Costume Rental and Theatrical Supplies LLC in Columbia sold contact lenses to investigators without a prescription, the attorney general’s office says.
The office sent a letter to both stores, informing them of the prescription requirement and the potential harm that can result from using contact lenses without a prescription. Following the receipt of the letters, both stores again sold contacts to investigators without a prescription, according to the release.
Cosmetic contact lenses include decorative contact lenses, fashion contact lenses, Halloween contact lenses, colored contact lenses and theater contact lenses.
“Cosmetic contact lenses should not be purchased without a valid prescription,” Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said. “Not only is the sale without a prescription prohibited by law, but the FDA has warned that buyers are at risk of serious eye infections resulting from contact lenses dispensed without a prescription.”
Koster is seeking an order to stop the defendants from selling contact lenses, as well as restitution for consumers and civil penalties.
In September, the attorney general of Texas has halted the sale of contact lenses that he said were “unsafe.” Texas AG Ken Paxton announced that his office had obtained settlements with 21 convenience and dollar stores in the San Antonio area.