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> they spread scent! If you think you need that, you probably should be cleaning or identify and eliminate a particular source of bad odours

What if you think you need that because you prefer pleasant scents to the neutral absence of noticeable scent, not because of “a particular source of bad odours”?

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Then why are they called air fresheners and not scent-generators or something like that?

> Then why are they called air fresheners

Because “fresh" has long been considered a descriptor of particular noticeable scents, not the absence of scent (also true, though not as relevant here, of particular tastes.)

I imagine the "healthy" connotation that the term fresh carries is good for marketing. "generator" sounds industrial, polluting.. makes one wonder if it causes adverse health effects.

You're right, and that's why I consider their name misleading: these things are thoroughly unhealthy, and may mask another source of unhealth (bad scent maybe due to hidden mold for instance).

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