Well said Paul. Whenever I read of these systems, I always give them the benefit of the doubt. I assume efficient extraction systems are installed somewhere, but that I am consistently unlucky in that I seem to avoid them in the pubs I visit.
Your post reaffirms my view, which is that in reality, there is no way of efficiently extracing from the air the poison fumes someone is breathing over you from a foot away.
Does anyone know of a pub in the Northwest or London that has an efficient air filtration system, so that I can test it?