Optometry Council warns against random wear of eyeglasses
MBEYA: The Registrar of the Optometry Council of Tanzania has warned people against using eyeglasses without a doctor’s recommendation, saying it can lead to severe eye complications.
Registrar, Sebastiano Millanzi, said in Mbeya that glasses are among medicines, so selling or buying them without a doctor’s recommendation can have an impact on the user. It is advisable for those who want to engage in the glasses business to comply with the Optometry Act, Chapter 23, including registering with the Council.
Millanzi said this while the Participatory Management team has conducted education on the correct use of glasses to prevent people from buying glasses illegally.
The education was provided at the Kabwe Market in Mbeya, where it has been noted that there are some traders who do not have an Optometry degree but are involved in the sale of glasses without testing them and selling them along with various other beauty products, contrary to existing guidelines.
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“Ignorance of the law is not a reason to break the law, and, fortunately, you have not yet received this education, so we are currently providing you with education and asking you to stop until you complete the necessary registration procedures starting from the level of the City Chief Medical Officer,” Millanzi stressed.
Millanzi used the opportunity to instruct the supervisory authorities at the council and regional levels to continue with regular participatory supervision and provide continuous education to the citizens.
For their part, the traders have admitted to doing the business without knowing that they are violating the procedures, so they promised to comply with the instructions given to them to begin the registration procedures.
The supervisory team from the Ministry of Health under the Optometry Council is collaborating with the President’s Office, RALGM, the regional level, and the Mbeya City Council in the work of providing education.
