When the Interests of Industry Are in Conflict with the Public Health: The Case of Myopia‪.‬

ABSTRACT When the growth and prosperity of an industry depend upon perpetuating a preventable human infirmity, what are the incentives to enlighten the public and thereby change the pathology of that infirmity? None, according to this pessimistic case addressing the most prevalent disability in America: myopia. While myopia and the industry it has spurned is the central them of this article, the discussion mirrors a similar conundrum in the so-called "healing" industries--and it raises a troubling ethical dilemma. As with myopia, major industries have grown up around virtually every common human ailment, and to insure growth in these business sectors those ailments must be conveyed as normal, predictable, and unavoidable -with relief available for purchase in the drugstore, or on the operating table.