DATE: Wednesday, October 15, 1997           TAG: 9710150488

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A17  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   26 lines

FDA SAYS COMPANY'S CONTACT LENS ADS MISLEADING

Johnson & Johnson has pulled advertisements for its Acuvue Contact Lenses with UV Blocker in response to a Food and Drug Administration complaint that the ads misled consumers about how much eye protection the lenses offer.

The ads falsely imply that wearing the contact lenses negates the need for sunglasses or other protection against ultraviolet radiation, the FDA warned.

The lenses only offer protection for a limited area of the eye, are not a substitute for traditional UV-absorbing glasses and have not been proven to reduce UV-linked eye diseases, the FDA said in a letter dated Oct. 7 but not made public until Tuesday.

Yet in television ads, an actor put on the lenses and squinted up at the sun with no apparent problem, the FDA complained.

In addition, the ads falsely implied that indoor lighting caused a UV hazard, the agency wrote.

Print advertising for the lenses had similar problems, the FDA said. KEYWORDS: FDA CONTACT LENSES

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