New survey reveals over 70 percent of parents are unaware of myopia; Essilor invests in consumer to reduce damaging impact of myopia in children by driving parents to book eye exams
According to a recent survey of Canadian parents, over 70 percent of them are unaware of myopia – or nearsightedness – and its impact on their children’s educational success. Identifying the need to improve that awareness, Essilor® is launching “Eyes on the Future,” a national campaign across Canada to encourage parents to protect their children’s eyesight by educating and driving action to book eye exams with iECPs for their children and give eye care professionals the resources to better diagnose and slow down myopia progression and other eye conditions.
Almost half of those surveyed also did not identify their child’s need for corrective lenses until the child is already struggling. According to research, 80 percent of all learning occurs through vision, and 1 in 3 children can’t see the board clearly. It is estimated that y 2050, half of the world population is predicted to be myopic.
“As a world leader in vision care, it is Essilor’s responsibility to play a leading role in the fight against myopia, and it’s apparent that many parents across Canada are unfortunately unaware of the impact that myopia can have on children,” said Nicola Courtemanche, Vice President, Optical, Independents, EssilorLuxottica Canada. “With myopia cases among children increasing, eye exams done at an earlier age are critical to identifying issues and treating early to reduce myopia’s impact on children’s futures. That’s why we’re invested to ensure parents make seeing an eye care professional for their children a top priority.”
The “Eyes on the Future” consumer campaign speaks directly to Canadian parents through a variety of multimedia platforms with celebrity influencers and key opinion leaders sharing stories of the families and children impacted by myopia. The campaign has the opportunity to reach over 13.5 million media impressions. Parents will learn that catching myopia early is key and highlight the positive difference eye care professionals can play in their children’s life, with treatments to correct their vision and slow the progression of myopia, specifically with the new Essilor® Stellest® lenses.
“We’re proud to be able to tell stories that highlight how parents love to see their children grow up, while, unfortunately, myopia can grow with them,” said Kristel Bordeleau-Tassile, Senior Manager, Brand Marketing, EssilorLuxottica Canada. “These stories capture the attention of parents through emotion, interest and curiosity. Our hope is that this campaign encourages all parents to immediately book eye exams for their children.”
“When we saw that more than 81 percent of parents surveyed have brought their child to the dentist within the past year, but only 52 percent have taken them to the eye doctor in the same timeframe, this makes our “Eyes on the Future” campaign so much more important,” said Bordeleau-Tassile.
In addition to investing in a consumer campaign, Essilor® is committed to supporting eye care professionals in the continued fight against myopia. A productivity incentive for Essilor® Stellest® is now available, starting August 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, independent eye care professionals will have the opportunity to earn rebates as they increase their sales of Essilor® Stellest® lenses. For more details and information, independent eye care professionals are encouraged to speak with their Essilor® Business Consultants. Support materials are also available, including in-depth educational content on the innovative lens through the Leonardo learning platform.
Essilor® Leading with Innovative Eye Solutions for Myopia
Essilor® launched a new lens in Canada in early 2022 called Essilor® Stellest®, which has been proven to slow down myopia progression by 67% on average, compared to single vision lenses when worn 12 hours a day.
“With cutting-edge innovation and resources to help eyecare professionals provide the highest quality of care and impact the lives of many young children, we are proud to bring a full range of myopia management solutions to Canada, making it the first country in North America to launch this vision care system,” said Courtemanche.
The earlier someone with myopia begins wearing the Essilor® Stellest® lenses, the better the outcome on myopia progression will be. Essilor® Stellest® lenses can be fitted to any frame and must be prescribed by an eye doctor.
The efficacy of the Essilor® Stellest® lenses has been further bolstered by the four-year clinical trial results of Essilor’s myopia control innovation Essilor® Stellest® lens, which were presented at the ARVO annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in April 2023. The findings show that Essilor® Stellest® lenses continue to exhibit strong efficacy in slowing myopia progression and axial eye elongation in children in the fourth year. The new data follows the recent publication of the three-year clinical trial findings in the medical journal American Journal of Ophthalmology, which also highlights evidence of continued myopia control efficacy of the lens in slowing down myopia progression in children over three years. The link to the article can be found here.
For more information about Essilor® Stellest® lenses or myopia, please visit www.essilor.ca.
1 Proof Strategies. (2023). Canadian Families of School-Aged Children: Myopia Survey.
(1) 2 Eyeglasses for Global Development: Bringing the Visual Divide; World Economic Forum, Social Entrepreneurs, EYElliance; June 2016.
(1) 3 Essilor See Change – Put Vision First global campaign 2017.
(1) 4 Brien A. Holden, et al, (2016). “Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050”.. Ophthalmology,
123(5); p 1036-1042.
5 Offer TERMS AND CONDITIONS*
A) Your baseline objective will be communicated by your Essilor® business consultant.
B) Rebate will be delivered via a credit note to your Essilor® acount 6-8 weeks after December 31st, 2023.
C) This offer is intended exclusively for Eyecare Professionals in Canada and cannot be combined with any other discount or any other current promotion.
D) Only Essilor® Stellest® Lenses are eligible in this promotion, uncut or edged & mounted. This offer is valid on all Essilor® Stellest® orders made from August 1st to December 31st, 2023.
6 Compared to single vision lenses, when worn by children at least 12 hours per day every day. Bao, J., Huang, Y., Li, X., Yang, A., Zhou, F., Wu, J., Wang, C., Li, Y., Lim, E.W., Spiegel, D.P., Drobe, B., Chen, H., 2022. Spectacle Lenses With Aspherical Lenslets for Myopia Control vs Single-Vision Spectacle Lenses: A Randomized Clinical Trial, in China. JAMA Ophthalmol. 140(5), 472–478.
7 Quantitative research conducted among a representative sample of 958 independent ECPs by CSA in February 2019 – France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US, Canada, Brazil, China, India.
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About Essilor
Essilor, part of EssilorLuxottica’s portfolio, is a leader in eyeglass lenses worldwide and the number one lens brand recommended by eye care professionals (ECPs). It offers a complete range of solutions dedicated to each individual’s vision and lifestyle needs throughout their life. Every Essilor lens is a combination of multiple complementary technologies thanks to its suite of leading premium vision care solutions, including innovative brands such as Essilor® Stellest®, Eyezen®,Varilux® and Crizal®. For more information, please visit www.essilor.ca.
About the survey
An online survey was conducted March 1st – 2nd, 2023. Respondents were recruited from an online audience panel on the basis of being a Canadian between 25 and 55 with a child between the ages of 5 and 14. Geographical quotas were set, proportionally matching the number of respondents from Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies, BC, and North. Additionally, 200 French respondents were initially targeted.
The survey attracted 2,569 responses. 1550 were disqualified for having no children they were directly responsible for, for their children being younger or older than the desired age range, or for quality reasons (e.g. completion of the survey in less time than reasonably possible). This left 1,019 qualified respondents.
Were this a probability sample, the margin of error would be +/- 3% with 95% confidence.
Contact
Valerie Burnatowski
Manager, Commercial Relations
EssilorLuxottica
M: 514-242-1809
E: valerie.burnatowski@essilor.ca