Action being taken as a result of the Call for Evidence on the sale and use of laser pointers.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is working with The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and Netmums to drive home the message that laser pointers are not toys.

With laser pointers becoming increasingly popular among children, OPSS and its delivery partners want to raise awareness of the dangers to eyesight from misuse.

This follows rising concern around the sale and use of laser pointers as they become both cheaper and more powerful.

The Government’s Call for Evidence in December 2017 set out the current understanding of the market for laser pointers and the legal framework for ensuring these products are safe.

It asked for comments on the nature and scale of the issues with laser pointers and heard from many leading eye experts in the UK who highlighted the risk of permanent damage from retinal burns as a result of misuse.

As a result, the Government promised a three-point action plan:

increase support for enforcement around the import of high powered laser pointers
encourage more effective voluntary labelling on devices
raise public awareness of the dangers to eyesight from misuse
The following set of materials have been created in consultation with leading UK ophthalmologists.