It's technically questionable, but the alternatives require units with which the public may be unfamiliar. A "better" unit in some cases might be lumens per wat

It's technically questionable, but the alternatives require units with which the public may be unfamiliar. A "better" unit in some cases might be lumens per watt, but this still doesn't help an unsophisticated consumer choose a replacement for a 60W incandescent bulb.