Do any of the CD lens cleaning discs work?

Yes it works for me.I clean the lens quite often with the Allsop and MoFi stylus cleaner #9 otherwise the sound gets compacted,less treble reach and soundfield.In winter with woodstove I do it almost every session.

My thinking is that a of lot environmental contaminants get on the lens (from cooking, smoking, etc.) as well as solid particles such as dust. The cleaning CDs probably remove some of these particles but I think it would take some kind of solvent to remove the film.

Elizabeth's idea is fine if the player is built to keep ambient dust out. I use one in the car periodically, and it usually reduces the amount of mis-reads and skipping. Of course, the car is a very dusty environment.

Yes! I use mine once a month. I have two of the same type, one for my laptop and the other for my Sony ES SACD/CD player.

They are both about seven years old and still work fine, as far as I can tell.

Made by Maxell: http://www.amazon.com/Maxell-CD-340-CD-Lens-Cleaner/dp/B000001OM5