Economics and attitudes regarding spectacles in daily life: a European perspective.

Purpose: The objectives of this survey were to collect data from five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) on the societal costs of spectacle dependence and respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for freedom from spectacles.

Methods: Samples of citizens age >or=45 years and currently wearing spectacles were selected according to a quota method (age, gender, occupation) and interviewed (22 questions) using a Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing system.

Results: In total, 4,157 respondents were interviewed across the 5 countries; 38.