Radical cystectomy (RC) with bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection is the standard of care for muscle-invasive urothelial bladder cancer (UBC), and very-high-risk and recurrent non–muscle-invasive UBC. However, RC is associated with a high rate of perioperative complications and a non-negligible mortality rate. Cigarette smoking is the strongest modifiable risk factor for the development and prognosis of UBC. Smoking habit at the time of surgery is associated with higher perioperative complications, surgical site infections (SSIs), and mortality across different types of surgeries, including abdominal, plastic, and reconstructive surgeries. Thus, in recent years, several studies have attempted to explore the influence of smoking on perioperative nononcologic outcomes following RC with contradictory results. Therefore, a critical appraisal of the impact of smoking on postoperative outcomes after RC is of utmost importance to better counsel patients in a preoperative setting on the benefits of smoking cessation, and better forecast surgical outcomes and perioperative management.