Who's scare mongering?
You are.
nicotine replacement is not considered safe at all
Bullshit. This is from ASH:
As stopping smoking can be difficult, some women may need pharmacotherapy support. A review of the efficacy and safety of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in pregnancy found that NRT increased smoking cessation rates, measured in late pregnancy, by approximately 40%. The authors found no evidence that NRT used for smoking cessation in pregnancy has either positive or negative impacts on birth outcomes.
A US review of studies found that NRT use significantly decreased the risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight compared to that of smokers and also found that NRT use does not appear to increase the risk of malformations.
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it was never once sold to me as risk free
Good, because nothing is 'risk free'. Nothing at all.
I'm simply sharing my finding from speaking to specialists and research.
Fascinating. Which specialists did you speak to? What other research have you done beyond the NHS choices analysis of a story from 2011 in the daily mail? You could at least be honest enough to link to the page so people can read the full nuanced discussion for themselves.
it's not a risk I'm prepared to take
And that's fine. You managed to quit cold turkey and as I said above, I'm very pleased for you. The OP is not in your position though, she is struggling to quit altogether. Coming onto her thread and telling her that they suspect nicotine in babies can cause defects is scaremongering.
The op asked about using an ecig during pregnancy too, not approved cessation methods.
Approved cessation methods are only safer if they work. OP is already using NRT & is still struggling to stop smoking completely. Ecigs work for a lot of people who have failed to quit using NRT. The NHS provides guidance on the use of ecigs in pregnancy:
E-cigarettes allow you to inhale nicotine through a vapour rather than smoke. Cigarettes deliver nicotine along with thousands of harmful chemicals. By itself, nicotine is relatively harmless.
E-cigarettes do not produce tar and carbon monoxide, two of the main toxins in cigarette smoke. Carbon monoxide is particularly harmful to developing babies. The vapour from an e-cigarette does contain some of the potentially harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke, but at much lower levels.
E-cigarettes are fairly new and there are still some things we don't know. However, current evidence on e-cigarettes indicates they are much less risky than smoking.
If using an e-cigarette helps you to stop smoking, it is much safer for you and your baby than continuing to smoke.
Unlike NRT, such as patches and gum, e-cigarettes are not available on NHS prescription. If you want to use an e-cigarette, you can still get free expert help from a stop smoking adviser.
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So please don't come on here trying to silence me
Don't be ridiculous 
How am I 'silencing' you? How does that even work on a forum? You just write what you want in the box then hit 'post'. I can't stop you!
All I have done is point out the effects of scaremongering which, in this situation, vastly outweigh the tiny theoretical risks of nicotine.