“Scientists say” is an ambiguous and manipulative phrase when not backed up by actual data. It’s right up there with “according to experts” and the ever-popular “studies have shown.”
Today’s exhibit is a hysteria-inducing broadside regarding e-cigarettes. Apparently, scientists say they contain ten times as much formaldehyde as cigarettes. So, where’s the data? The article, of course, doesn’t provide it.
It comes from a Japanese study, available here. The methodology is questionable, and the results contradict what we’ve been hearing from other scientists, like this guy I’m citing. It should be mentioned that this comes from a nation with a male smoking rate 60% higher than that of the United States, and one in which the government controls the tobacco industry.
The real motivation behind things like this is economic. Tobacco marketers [pdf] and pharmaceutical companies have long held monopolies on nicotine products. They’re not happy to see an open-source alternative biting into their market share, and they’re doing everything they can to kill it.