GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Over four out of ten Americans who wear glasses or contacts would consider having laser eye surgery to correct their vision problems at some point in the future, and about ten percent of current glasses or contact wearers are considering it within the next year or two. Those who would not consider it are most likely to cite a concern that it might damage their eyes as their reason, although cost is apparently also an issue. Almost six out of ten glasses and contact wearers say they would be more likely to consider the procedure if it were covered by their health insurance.
Seven out of Ten Americans Wear Some Type of Corrective
Lenses
The vision correction market in the U.S. today is enormous. About
seven out of ten Americans 18 years of age and older wear some type
of corrective lens, a figure that jumps to 90% and higher among
those 50 and older. The breakdown of the U.S. adult population is
as follows:
| Current Use of Glasses and Contacts Among the 18+ American Population | |
|---|---|
| Don't need any type of corrective lens | 29% |
| Primarily wear glasses | 57% |
| Primarily wear contact lenses | 9% |
| Wear glasses and contacts about equally | 4% |
| Other/No response | 1% |
There are interesting variations in the use of corrective lenses across subgroups of the American population:
- Just a bare majority, 54%, of 18- to 29-year-olds wear glasses or contacts, a figure that jumps to 90% and higher after age 49
- Highly educated Americans are more likely to wear corrective lenses than are those who are less well educated: 82% of those with postgraduate degrees need corrective lenses, compared to 68% of those with only a high school education or less
- Liberals are less likely to wear corrective lenses than are conservatives, by a 65% to 75% margin
Forty-Three Percent of Those Who Currently Wear Glasses or
Contacts Would Consider Laser Eye Surgery
The traditional market for glasses and contacts has in recent years
been invaded by ophthalmologists who promise to vanquish the need
for corrective lenses by virtue of new laser eye surgery techniques
that reshape the cornea and thus correct vision on a permanent
basis. Some argue that the new procedures will -- at some point in
the future -- all but wipe out the need for the traditional vision
correction methods of glasses and contact lenses.
A Gallup poll conducted in mid-February suggests that there is a highly significant pent-up demand for such services. Over half of those who wear corrective lenses say they have followed the news of the laser surgery procedures at least somewhat closely. The percentage who have been following the laser eye surgery news jumps to about three-quarters of Americans who currently wear contacts, most probably because these individuals -- having already eschewed traditional glasses for concealed contact lenses -- are most motivated to explore avenues outside of traditional methods to correct their vision.
Those who wear glasses or contacts were given three choices to describe their possible future behavior regarding the laser procedure, with the following results:
| Which of the following best describes your views on the new laser eye surgery? | |
|---|---|
| Base: Those who currently wear glasses or contacts (71% of the adult population) | |
| Might consider having it done within the next year or two | 11% |
| Might consider having it done at some point in the future, but not in the next year or two | 32 |
| Would not consider having it done at all | 53 |
| Have already had it done | 3 |
Just over four out of ten Americans who currently wear glasses or contacts would at least consider the procedure at some point in the future, and about one out of ten say they might consider it within the next year or two.
(About 3% of those interviewed in the survey say they have already had the procedure. The percentage of those who say that they have already had it done is highest among those 65 and older, most probably because these older Americans are most likely to have had cataract surgery and other more traditional medical procedures commonly performed in the later years of life.)
Interest Highest Among Those 30-49 and Those Who Wear
Contacts
The highest interest in the laser vision correction procedures is
among Americans who are between 30 and 49 years of age, about six
out of ten of whom say they might be interested. Interest falls off
after age 50 and is quite low among Americans 65 and older.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans who wear contacts are significantly more likely to say they would consider the new procedure than are those who don't wear contacts:
| Which of the following best describes your views on the new laser eye surgery? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Base: Those who currently wear glasses or contacts (71% of the adult population) | ||
| Those who primarily wear glasses now | Those who primarily wear contacts now | |
| (57% of the U.S. adult population) | (9% of the U.S. adult population) | |
| Might consider having it done within the next year or two | 10% | 17% |
| Might consider having it done at some point in the future, but not in the next year or two | 29 | 48 |
| Would not consider having it done at all | 57 | 35 |
| Have already had it done | 3 | -- |
Those who say they wouldnotconsider having the laser eye surgery procedure were asked to agree or disagree with three reasons that might explain their reluctance, with the following results:
- 53% say they worry that it might do damage to their eyes
- 41% say they simply haven't thought about it
- 39% say it is too expensive
Survey Methods
The results reported here are based on telephone interviews with a
randomly selected national sample of 1,050 adults, 18 years and
older, conducted February 14-15, 2000. For results based on this
sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum
error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or
minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question
wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can
introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion
polls.