Hector Martin

This happens all the time, sadly. Meanwhile, that physician has no clue about laser safety. "Green-blue lasers are typically considered more dangerous than red-orange lasers because they emit a light [...] to which the human eye is most sensitive". That's totally backwards.

At visible wavelengths, the only thing that matters is power. Green lasers appear brighter at the same power. Therefore, at the same apparent brightness, a green laser is much safer than a red laser, since it will be much lower power.

This isn't considering IR leakage from DPSS green lasers though, which is a totally different problem that has nothing to do with the sensitivity of the retina. That just depends on how crappy the laser pointer is.

Agree with you up to a point, but don’t know whether makers ‘reduce power’ just because’ it’s a green laser. In passing, most reports I’ve seen of misuse in UK relate to lasers being pointed at aircraft.