Cooking smoke safety Whenever I make burgers (stovetop with cast iron), they produce a high amount of smoke.  I usually take extra precautions to ensure adequate ventilation, but I end up inhaling quite a bit a smoke.  

Is it common for professional or semi-professional chefs to use protective gear in lieu of adequate ventilation? If I do this semi-regularly (once every two weeks), should I invest in protective gear such as a mask?
It's extremely common for professional chefs to have fans: most of the time these are mandated by regulations for the safety of those in and out of the kitchen. If you producing so much smoke to be considering protective gear my advice would be to change your method because as it stands you are at risk of fire and you aren't doing your lungs (or those of the people around you) any good.