pawlywog

OP isn't that type of glass blower but I can answer this because I am that type.. You'd never really unintentionally inhale. You're fully aware of how hot whats in front of you is because you feel the radiant heat off of it. You can INTENTIONALLY inhale to collapse what you're working on in. It is done very lightly with a very very VERY small puff in. not really a deep breath inhale but more of a puff where you use the pressure in your mouth and not your lungs.

OP isn't going to be much help with this. pop over to /r/lampwork for more info but basically you're going to need a torch, kiln, fuel gas/oxygen, graphite tools and lots of time and patience. and money.. lots of money :)

I'm embarrassed I didn't even mention ventilation.. Thanks for adding additional info haha was so worried about the equipment aspect of it I ignored the safety aspect.. Ventilation, ace or didy shades, flash back arrestors, regulators, T grade hoses... the list goes on and on >.<

what COE of glass do you use? Have you ever thought of collaborating with other, more traditional glass artists?

That varies depending on the equipment you're going for. You can get a National for less than 100, a used kiln for a couple hundred, get tools and supplies for all under 1000. You can also spend 5k on a torch alone. My kiln by itself was 1500. The range in what you can spend is crazy.. really depends on what your goal is