I used to love Easter. It was one of the few holidays where you didn’t have to buy anything, make anything or go anywhere. It was pure relaxation and bliss.

Then I had kids.

I don’t love Easter at all anymore. While I stuffed my kids’ baskets with as much non-sugary loot as I could find at the dollar store, you can imagine what they went for first, second and pretty much all day long. That’s right—chocolate.

They couldn’t get enough. They had so many choices and—thanks to Grammie and Papa—they had a license to eat whatever they wanted all morning long.

Of course, they loved it––at first. The morning was full of laughter and excitement. But, by naptime they were wired and, I’m ashamed to say, a little sick. All the freedom afforded them by my well-intentioned parents was beginning to backfire, much like I’m afraid the recent actions of British Columbian Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon will soon do as well.

If Minister Falcon has his way, as of May 1, citizens of British Columbia will be able to order glasses or contacts online without having to provide the seller with a copy of their prescription or sight test assessment.

This may seem like a big win for consumers—to say nothing of the benefits that some retailers will reap—but it most definitely is not in the best interest of public health.

Falcon says his aim is to modernize an old system to give British Columbians more choices. But, if you ask me, this move is not much different than giving a basket full of candy to a baby. And, the ramifications are much more far-reaching and detrimental to his charges than my own temporary laxity on Easter morning.

While on the surface, it may appear generous, Minister Falcon is not doing British Columbians any favors. On the contrary, he is setting them up for infection and a host of other potentially blinding conditions. In fact, two studies published in the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s journal Ophthalmology in 2008 concluded that the risk of eye infections associated with Internet/mail order purchase of contact lenses was nearly five times higher than when lenses were brought from an optometrist.

Contact lenses are medical devices. Under no circumstances are rank-and-file consumers qualified to self-prescribe or otherwise refill an Rx without proper oversight. To that end, the British Columbia Association of Optometrists intends to mount a campaign to oppose this and other related changes that put British Columbian patients’ eyes at risk. For more on this, see “ Legislation to Allow Canadians to Buy Contacts Online Without Rx.”