This Exploratory study investigated the role that normative beliefs play in distinguishing between adolescent non-smokers who intend to initiate cigarette smoking in the near future and non-smokers who intend to refrain from the use of cigarettes. The instrument used for this study was that employed by the Substance Abuse Monitoring Survey (SAMS) (Olds & Thombs, 2004). For the purpose of this study, data analysis was limited to measures assessing tobacco use and tobacco norms. This convenience sample consisted of 6,595 students enrolled in 9 northeast Ohio school districts. The data were collected in the academic years 1999-2000 to 2003-2004. In a logistic regression analysis, the predictor set had a significant effect on intentions to initate smoking, as indicated by model chi-square at step 1 = 116.118, df = 24, p < .05. The predictor set explained approximately 21% of the variance in intention to start smoking cigarettes. The best predictors of intention to start smoking cigarettes were: (a) perceived acceptability of starting to smoke among siblings, (b) perceived acceptability of starting to smoke among close friends, (c) perceived acceptability of starting to smoke among one's teachers, (d) perceived prevalence of smoking among close friends, (e) academic performance, in that order. These findings provided empirical support for the study's hypothesis that among adolescent non-smokers, proximal perceived norm measures would be superior to distal perceived norm measures in discriminating between those who intend to initiate cigarette smoking in the near future and those who do not intend to do so. Results from this study suggest that a much more robust strategy for providing normative education would focus on delivering feedback about proximal norms. In addition, a critical issue for delivering normative education in schools seems to be teacher training. The findings from this study suggest that teachers could be effective in establishing conservative normative beliefs. Finally, the findings from this study suggest that the social norms model is a useful conceptual framework for explaining the initiation or acquisition of cigarette use among teenagers.