84% of French people own sunglasses. Here’s what you need to know before buying or using them.
- 64% of sunglasses wearers are unaware that clear lenses can provide UV protection.
- 74% are unaware of the level of protection of their glasses, whether they are tinted or not.
- 75% of French people buy their sunglasses from the optician.
As the summer holidays have started, a new survey by AsnaV (Association for the Improvement of Sight) and OpinionWay surveyed the state of French knowledge about sunglasses, an essential item for maintaining good eye health.
Level of protection
“While the number of French people who declare that they own a pair of sunglasses is clearly increasing to reach 84% today, their knowledge of the level of protection provided by them is still very low”, first write the pollsters.
Thus, the confusion between tinted lenses and filtering lenses persists, including among those who wear corrective glasses:
– 64% of sunglasses owners don’t know that clear lenses can provide UV protection or think they don’t.
– 74% are unaware of the level of protection of their lenses, whether they are tinted or not.
Go to the optician
This lack of understanding is fortunately compensated for by the act of purchase which takes place, for 75% of French people, at the optician. This health professional can indeed provide very useful advice when buying sunglasses, such as:
– indicate the most suitable pair according to the sensitivity to light, specific to each person.
– indicate the most suitable pair according to the visual correction.
– indicate the most suitable pair according to the use, knowing that certain activities such as extreme sports may have limits of use.
“This no doubt explains why 23% of respondents favor information on the quality of protection of sunglasses as the first criterion of choice before the price, cited by 20% of them”, concludes the investigation.
