Short answer
No. Smoking a cigarette, shisha or vape does not break wudu in any of the four schools. But going to the masjid or praying with the smell on your mouth is disliked, so rinse your mouth and clean your teeth before you pray.
Smoking does not break wudu. Going to the masjid with a strong bad smell from the mouth is makruh tahrimi, as with raw garlic and onion, so remove the smell before prayer.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Wudu (ablution) is broken by specific things, such as what leaves the private passages, and smoke going into the mouth is not one of them. The four schools agree that smoking does not break wudu. The same is true of vaping, nicotine pouches and hookah.
The smell is the real issue. The Prophet ﷺ told those who had eaten raw garlic or onion not to come near the masjid, because the angels are troubled by what troubles people. Scholars apply this to any strong bad smell, and cigarette smoke is stronger than most. Hanafi scholars say it is makruh tahrimi (seriously disliked) to enter the masjid with such a smell.
Before prayer:
- rinse your mouth well, or brush your teeth or use a miswak
- wash your hands if they smell of smoke
- avoid smoking right before going to the masjid
Whether smoking itself is allowed is a separate question. Hanafi scholars have long held it at least makruh, and many contemporary scholars, citing its proven harm, say it is haram. Either way, if you smoke, your wudu stays and your prayer is valid, but you should keep the smell away from the masjid and from the people praying next to you.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 564
Sahih... فلا يقربن مسجدنا فان الملائكة تاذى مما يتاذى منه الانس ...
"He should not come near our masjid, for the angels are troubled by what troubles people."
A bad smell from the mouth keeps one from the masjid, though it does not break wudu.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on what is disliked in the masjid. Entering the masjid with a bad smell, including from tobacco.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on what breaks wudu. The list of breakers, which does not include smoking.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.