Cheap Sunglasses Cause Cancer
Wed, May 14, 2008
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Every summer it seems, I find myself unable to root out the sunglasses I purchased for an arm and a leg the year prior; a ritual that has over time, moved my style from $120 Ray-Bans to $10 gas station glasses. Imagine my surprise when I found out that this was probably going to kill me, and that nobody was doing anything about it.
As it happens, there are no federal regulations in the U.S. on the amount of UV light that sunglasses have to block, and while many cheap pairs do just fine, many don’t, and exploit the lack of sanctions to lie about it.
If a producer of sunglasses is found to be producing a product that they claim blocks 100% of UV rays and it’s not, their punishment will be a nasty letter from the FDA. If they wish to avoid even that unpleasantness, they can simply label the accessory as “blocks most UV rays” and it will be subject to no regulation at all.
This is bad for obvious reasons, but also because putting on sunglasses causes your eyes to dilate, letting more light in and in the case of sunglasses not offering UV protection, more UV rays as well.
UV rays cause exactly the same type of damage to your eyes as your skin, causing burns, blindness, and yes, an elevated cancer risk. Australia, home of the highest skin cancer rates in the world and whose massive population lives next to the ozone hole, has strict standards for sunglasses; as does the European Union. Why won’t America come along?
[AP]
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“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else.”
May 15th, 2008 at 4:47 am
are you kidding? The US? We are so above the rules we can’t even get cancer. Fat Chance of getting the Bush regime to even listen, let alone DO something positive!
May 15th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
There are regulations in the U.S., but not every product needs to pass them, as far as I know. They are called the ANSI standards, and if a product passes them, they meet what the American government has set as standards. Check for them when buying sunglasses.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
May I suggest a Title Correction.
Cheep sunglasses do not limit the risks of cancer as well as expensive sunglasses.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:19 am
I have always wondered about this, especially with kids glasses. I have an expensive pair from a company I trust, but for my young daughter, she has a cheap pair.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I must agree with Jimi D. You should change the title. I don’t think that all cheap sunglasses are bad for the eyes. And how can you be sure Ray Bans or other big companies offer 100% protection? Because of the marketing or because of the prices?
May 28th, 2008 at 8:43 am
As Jimi says, the title is somewhat inaccurate. So is the article. Wearing sunglasses may well cause your pupils to dilate, but not to the extent that they let in more light than the pupils of someone who is not wearing sunglasses – if that were the case, nobody would wear sunglasses, because they would have the opposite of the required effect!
May 28th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
LOL, so expensive sunglasses protect 0.5% of our body from UV light that *potentially* causes cancer. Phew. And here I was all worried since the other 99.5% of my body is still exposed.
Off to go buy expensive sunglasses!! How did man survive before the age of sunglasses?!
May 28th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
How much did Oakley and Ray-Ban pay for this post?
May 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I have an idea!
Quit asking the government to hold your hand in ever decision you make. The reason people make uninformed purchases such as buying sunglasses that increase your chances of cancer is because they assume that the government would never allow for an unsafe product to make it to the market.
Take some responsibility for yourselves people and stop crying to the government.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Rojash,
you’ve missed the point. The glasses block the visible spectrum, your eyes dilate to compensate, but as you say, not to the point where they let more *visible* light in. They do however allow much more UV light in if the glasses are not blocking UV.
Ergo, cheap non-UV blocking glasses are worse than no glasses at all.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
i saw a program on tv where cheap and expensive sunglass were tested for their 100% UV protection. The cheap sunglasses they tested did have 100% protection. Of course some sunglasses are novelties and i wouldn’t trust those. At least buy the ones that have a sticker on them claiming their protection. UV is not that expensive to manufacture. The conclusion of the story was that you cant trust any sunglasses unless you have them tested at an optometrist. Its on Youtube somewhere.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Yeah, because our FDA is just SOOO on the ball here!
(what’s the count up to on drugs they’ve passed that they’ve had to recall due to “further complications” like DEATH!) :-(
May 28th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
LOL, is there ANYTHING we use today that doesn’t cause cancer? I doubt it.
JT
http://www.iurlz.com/datools
May 28th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
UV light is blocked by most polymers like consumer plastic. That means you could wear any piece of clear plastic on your eyes clear like dollar store reading glasses and they would still block the UV waves just like a $500 pair of Gucci sunglasses would. The dark tint in sunglasses is just for polarizing the plane of the vis-light. Any piece of plastic will block UV light. This article is inaccurate.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
sensationalist title. cheap sunglasses don’t cause cancer, but they don’t help you block uv rays. causation is certainly different than a lack of a mitigating effect.. you had me thinking the cheap lenses somehow amplified the damage from the rays.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I believe that the glasses permit UV rays in certain amounts; they, themselves, don’t cause cancer. Link bait.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
i find it comical how people default to the “blah blah blah and the Bush regime won’t blah blah blah”
am i a fan of bush right now, no. does bush (or who so ever is president at the time) and his circle control and oversee everything that is america standards/laws/practices. get real
May 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Let’s not go overboard here. Any dermatologist will tell you to wear sunscreen EVERY time you go outside. If you end up with skin cancer, it is likely not because you wore cheap sunglasses.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
rojash,
What happens is that sunglasses block a percentage of light. Light is a spectrum composed of what we see and what we can’t see. Some of what we can’t see is damaging to our eyes. The issue mentioned in the article occurs when sunglasses block a large percentage of the visible light such that our pupils dilate, and then an even greater amount of the UV light (not visible) enters our eyes and causes damage.
So here’s the real issue going on…
With name brand sunglasses, they have a reputation to protect. When they sell $100+ sunglasses, they aren’t going to risk damaging their brand by skimping on a couple of bucks for true UV blocking lenses. Of course they could, it’s possible, but they are also a bigger target since it’s very easy to identify the name, model, retailer, etc… and ultimately the source.
On the other hand, when you get glasses with no real name on them from a street vendor or wherever, and they got them from some drop-bulk shipment from China, there’s no brand or reputation to check, no easy way of tracking down the source, or tracking down where they all ended up being shipped or sold. And the original manufacturer of the glasses had no incentive to actually use UV blocking lenses. The manufacturer or anyone down the line could simply place the UV blocking stickers on the glasses.
The US really should crack down on this.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I’m willing to suffer cancer as long as my sunglasses make me look cool.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Wow
The tree huggers are blaming this on Bush. Amazing!
May 28th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Why in the world should the federal government regulate sunglasses manufactures? More government failures – just what we need!
May 28th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
All glass-lens sunglasses block UV. In fact all glasses block UV. The only type of glass that will let UV through is quartz glass which isn’t used in this application. The fluid-like molecular structure of glass traps UV of all types.
The only sunglasses that don’t block it are the ones with plastic lenses, which I can’t expect anyone would think offered any protection at all. This is just scaremongering.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
the article actually says that the cheap glasses cause pupil dilation and therefore an increased exposure to uv light, whilst I agree with there being a case for a title correction I disagree with jimi d’s title.
“Cheap sun glasses may increase the risk of cancer” would probably be a better choice of title
May 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
So people who don’t wear sunglasses will go blind and have cancer of the eyes? Has that been observed in the 4 billion people in China, India and Africa who, by custom, do not wear sun glasses? I don’t think so.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
heh, I could tell this from a very young age. I could not wear non-polarized sun glasses. They make my eyes start feeling funny and eventually start hurting. This is back in the day when polarized sunglasses were pretty much a new thing. For years I could not get prescription sunglasses because they could not do polarized lenses.
These days, expensive is not necessary. Polarized is.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Your title is horribly misleading. You should be ashamed of yourself.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Rojash and Jimi, the author must have titled it that based on this line in the story: “This is bad for obvious reasons, but also because putting on sunglasses causes your eyes to dilate, letting more light in and in the case of sunglasses not offering UV protection, more UV rays as well.”
May 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Why wait for the summer to use sunglasses? I wear my maui jims 12 hours a day.. The sun is your enemy..
May 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
very interesting. I’ve never heard of this – but thats an interesting point. I’ve always wondered basically the same thing and have been a proponent of the sunglasses that have a brand – not the ones that are $5 at the truck stop…
However since I started wearing glasses – I just get them from my eye doctor.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Simple answer if you are worried about your sunglasses.
Take the suspect sunglasses to a glasses store like Lens Crafters etc and ask them to test them for UV protection. They have a device that emits and measures UV light. I buy my glasses from the guys in the mall $10 a pair, before I buy them I tell them I’m going down to the Glasses Store to have them measured. If they are not 100% UV blockers I’ll be back for a refund. I’ve never taken one pair back yet.
Also you could buy your sunglasses in Canada, It’s against the law to sell sunglasses in Canada that do not block 100% of UVA and UVB rays. Both UVA and UVB need to be blocked. Blocking one or the other is useless and that goes for sunblock too.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Cheap sunglasses cause cancer? As opposed to no sunglasses?
You’ll need to submit a medical journal research article that backs up your citation.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
So cheap sunglasses fail to protect from cancer, not cause it? Great job with the sensationalist title.
Also: First poster with the Bush bashing. Is there anything that’s not directly the fault of the current administration? Next you’ll blame the Republicans for not preventing the explosive diareahh you got eating at Chili’s. Great Job.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
rayban must be funding these politicians that is why they are silent about such issues.good post
May 28th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I agree with you 100%. this is the price we pay when corporate America is allowed to place profits above public safety.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Maybe the title should be “Lack of government safety oversight leads to abuse”. Just saying, we in the U.S. are adverse to telling companies they can’t sell dangerous things to people, and even more unlikely to enforce some form of retribution when it happens. I hope we get over it soon.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Please explain the part about sunglasses letting in more light. Also, please provide some proof/sources.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Some people here seem to be missing the point… Sunglasses of any kind cause your pupils to dilate, because they block visible light. Therefore, sunglasses that do not block ultraviolet rays cause more ultraviolet light to enter your eyes than otherwise would. Exposing your eyes to ultraviolet light raises your risk of eye cancer. Hence, if you wear sunglasses that let ultraviolet rays through, you are more at risk of eye cancer than you are if you don’t wear sunglasses. This is not rocket science.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
golly Jimmy, wonderful ‘conservative’ rhetoric. Just one question, without some government regulation how are we supposed to know what qua;lities/ingredients something has? I don’t have a UV testing lab in my car, so how do I know what standards the glasses have if there is not government oversight. And the only reason we get lists of ingredients and nutritional information – the things we need to be self-empowered consumers – is because of government regulations.
We’re not asking gov. to make our decisions for us, just to ensure we have what we need to be able to make those decisions for ourselves.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Bob-31 is one of the few that is HELPFUL as well as being more right. Most every glass and polymer (plastic) blocks most ultraviolet light. I recently had to search very hard to find glass windows for a house addition that specifically LET UV light in (when not overdone, UV helps body generate Vitamin D).
This article simply explains the concept that thought the human iris contracts and restricts ALL light, glasses that restrict visible light only while letting through UV light (rare) effectively FOOL the eye in a potentially dangerous way in that the UV amount is still high while the iris is made WIDER than normal.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
You’re an idiot. WTF are you supposed to do? Go ask McDonalds if their crap has a lot of fat and/or feces in it? You think they’d ever tell the truth if they didn’t risk gov’t sanction for lying? You think there’d be ANY information about ANYthing available if the gov’t didn’t require it? Oh, wait — I get it, you don’t really THINK. Ah, that explains your simplistically blind logic. bah…
May 28th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
this happens because wearing sunglasses opens up your pupils, allowing for the rays to damage them, causing eye problems.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Longterm effects aside, have you ever looked through a cheap pair of sunglasses?!?!?!
Yeah that feeling that you are way up and about to step off the edge? And what about those headaches?
You feel that? Think it might have anything to do with those poorly glazed lenses or the warped in the mold frames?
Whatever, i save money right?!?!?!
May 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Be careful: this is wrong. The UV transmission of glass is somewhat variable, while the UV transmission of all transparent plastic sunglass lenses I’ve ever seen tested is quite close to zero. Expensive sunglasses with glass lenses may be somewhat UV transmissive (as well as being shatter-prone).
As someone suggested, if you have doubts about the UV protection of your sunglasses, take them to an optical shop and have them tested.
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00539.htm
http://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/STP/PAGES/STP18176S.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fused_quartz
May 28th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Even if your sunglasses didn’t block UV, its worth it to point out that they would at least still be okay for driving. Your car windows already block UV.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
My brother use to work for an optical instrament company. They have a machine to check light spectrum among other things. As a fun experiment, they place different sunglass in the machine.
The conclusion: It was surprising. Cheap sunglass actually blocked more UV than expensive ones. Cheap plastic glass don’t transmit light that well, so they don’t transmit UV as well. Expensive glass on the other hand are so clear that they pass more light as well as UV light. We are talking about small amounts here because the machine is very sensitive. If you want to protect your eyes better, skip the RayBan and get the cheap $10 ones.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Damn…I usually do the exact same thing. Then again, what did people do BEFORE sunglasses? I guess that was before the o-zone hole…
May 28th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
F*cking communist. QUICK, GET THE GOVERNMENT TO STEP IN AND BAN CHEAP SUNGLASSES, I CAN’T MAKE ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLES A DECISION BY MYSELF TO NOT BUY THEM. AHHH HELP RULERS OF MY LIFE I DON’T WANT TO BE IN CONTROL!
May 29th, 2008 at 1:00 am
As most of us are fully aware, most dirt cheap products are made in China, dont you love the Chinese! Im sure they are having problems sleeping in their beds, over in China knowing that they are deliberately damaging the healths of the Americans.
May 29th, 2008 at 6:02 am
douchebags… seriously acting like you have to wear sunglasses all the time…
live a fucking little
douchebags.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I couldn’t say whether it is the governments responsibility to ban cheap sunglasses. Additionally, I am sure it isn’t true that all cheap sunglasses are inadequate at banning UV rays. However, you can feel safe that buying a more expensive designer pair of sunglasses will protect your eyes. Check out Eye Pieces of Vail.
June 12th, 2008 at 5:57 am
It’s bullshit that anyone should be relying on the government to mandate something. That’s what’s gotten us in so much trouble with our economy. The only way to ‘mandate’ something like this effectively without backlash is to let capitalism run it’s course. If we go to private organisations (eg. Good Housekeeping) and look for their stamp of approval, the bad sunglasses will be forced to raise their standards or be forced out of the market. The answer to any question of government mandation is FUCK NO! We the people need to fucking do it ourselves.
Also, as an Australian I dispute that there is a “massive” population.
June 16th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Wow, that’s pretty bad. I always have a nice pair of expensive driving glasses that I’ve kept for years because they help me see, so now I can laugh at the people who’ve used $4 shades off a discount rack at the beach. Also, did no one else laugh when they read the title? I could have sworn they meant the ZZ Top song. But anyway, very informative.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Cheap sunglasses do not cause cancer. If you step inside a mall and put on a pair of inexpensive sunglasses, will you get cancer?
June 17th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Maybe we should just walk around with our eyes closed all the time. No UV rays then. Seems to work fine for a lot of other problems in our world….
June 20th, 2008 at 3:04 am
This was debunked way back in 2005. See link:
http://www.squaremouth.com/travel-advice/cheap-sunglasses-and-the-naked-eye/
Here’s a quote:
The cheapest pair of sunglasses–and even clear glass or plastic, for that matter–can block a significant amount of UV radiation. “You’re just not going to get in trouble if you block out sunlight,” says Dr. Kent Daum, an associate professor in the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
We prepare our prescription glasses using the same methods, technology and suppliers as those employed by high street opticians. The only thing that is different with our service is that you pay a lot lot less for the same products therefore making them quality cheap glasses online. All orders are handled individually by experienced and skilled technicians. From receipt of your prescription, through every stage of the production process to despatch of your finished cheap glasses, our labs use the latest computer technology to check the accuracy and quality of our work. Our labs are using the very latest in state of the art equipment.