The architecture of the new ZRH airside center is impressive and well designed - one could believe to be in some Australian airport if there would not be the downturn of the food and drink outlets....

The bar counters in the open public area are smoke infested !! and Unique lost a great opportunity to ban smoking from all open spaces of Zurich airport. I wonder how the staff can accept working at these bars being constantly victim of cigarette smoke poisoning. It is a shame that Switzerland will be among the last countries tackling the cigarette smoking problem (I am Swiss ) which has beconme socially unacceptable elsewhere.

The air in the airside center is in consequence stale and I am heading to the new Swiss lounge... read further in the Swiss Travel Club forum....

I've used the new Airside Center twice so far and found it quiet OK. Smoke didn't seem a Problem to me as there's enough air and smoking areas are limited.
Let's be glad that in Switzerland we still have some tolerance... unlike many other non-european countries.

Verve forgets the staff working at the bars and the passengers who can not escape to a non smoking airline lounge for having a drink. The bar counters I saw in the airside center are all smoking only.

To confine smoking to closed and ventilated spaces does not affect "tolerance", but makes smokers also feel more comfortable and less guilty

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in the otherwise very nice airside center and was also surprised/shocked to find these smoking bars. And then all three of them ... it surely bothered me enough not to go there and get a snack/drink. I wonder whether all together they win more customers than they loose with this policy.
In fact, as the bars are open and not specially ventilated, the smoke of the bars is rather strong from quite far away. Very annoying indeed, and then there was this nice Camel-sponsored smoking room ... completely deserted!