Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire from a study that has been examining determinants of cigarette use among adolescents. We explored the relationship using a stepwise regression analyses and entered first demographics, then depressive symptoms variables and finally perceived beliefs about benefits associated with cigarette use. We also included in the model other determinants that have been previously associated with cigarette use as parental smoking and peer influences as control. Our findings suggest that negative affect (Beta=.116, t(566) = 2.607, p=.009) does predict current cigarette smoking. Once we entered perceived benefits, depressive symptoms continues to predict cigarette use (Beta=.108, t(566) = 2.456, p=.014). Perceived benefits on mood of cigarette smoking (Beta=.115, t(556) = 2.543, p=.014) also appear to predict this behavior. Our findings suggest that depressive symptoms influences cigarette use directly and indirectly through the perceived benefits youth perceive have that smoking cigarettes may improve their mood. We also report sex differences and implications of these findings to further understand cigarette use among adolescents. Background: Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death. Half of the regular smokers die prematurely of a tobaccorelated disease. Although the prevalence of youth smoking in some Western countries has been in steady decline, smoking prevalence in many developing countries is increasing. Thailand and Malaysia are in Southeast Asia, one of the critical regions for tobacco consumption. Objective: To compare the smoking behavior among adolescents in Thailand and Malaysia. Design/Methods: A population-based, national surveys were conducted among 1,694 adolescents with ages between 13 and 18 from Thailand (n=917) and Malaysia (n=777). Respondents were selected using multistage cluster sampling. Respondents were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square tests and t tests.