Australia's competition watchdog has taken legal action to try to shut down more than 40 Melbourne solariums it says are lying about their safety.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has also personally targeted Australian Tanning Association president Scott Meneilly in the action.
The ACCC's action follows the death last September of cancer crusader Clare Oliver, a 26-year-old Melbourne woman who blamed solarium visits for the skin cancer that killed her.
Following Ms Oliver's death, Mr Meneilly wrote an open letter claiming that she did not die from cancer caused by solariums.
The companies involved in the Federal Court action include Tropical Sun Industries Pty Ltd, Body Bronze International Pty Ltd and the Australian Tanning Association (ATA).
The parties will battle over claims the tanning industry has made that there is no evidence linking solarium use with skin cancer or damage.
The ACCC said such claims were false and medical and scientific evidence existed linking solarium use to an increased risk of skin cancer.
The parties involved in the action could be forced to pay the ACCC's legal costs and publish media releases and publish notices correcting the claims if they lose.
The ACCC alleges false, misleading and deceptive conduct by the solariums in contravention of the Trade Practices Act.
"The ACCC alleges the parties engaged in the contravening conduct by misrepresenting the risks associated with solarium use," an ACCC statement said.
Ms Oliver warned young women about the dangers of solarium use from her bed in the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre before she died, prompting reforms to the industry including mandatory health warnings and a ban on solarium use by children under 16 in Victoria.
Then prime minister John Howard paid tribute to the life of the melanoma victim following her death.
The matter has been filed for hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne on July 24.
