It is difficult to understand why the Minister has decided not to allow the use of atropine and allow the use of this drug, even though a reputable medical text book says it has an even greater chance of causing serious systemic side-effects which are most likely to occur in children. It is not possible to refract a child's eye without the use of either atropine or cyclopentolate because one must relax the ciliary muscle to allow for the refraction.