OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess gender differences regarding perceptions of smoking between Romanian non-smoking boys and girls, to facilitate the development of effective smoking prevention programmes. METHODS Cross-sectional data were obtained in 2006 by means of written questionnaires among 981 non-smoking school students aged 13-14 years from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. RESULTS The results reveal that girls were more convinced than boys that smoking would result in several positive outcomes such as helping them getting more attention and becoming easier part of the crowd. Moreover, girls declared lower self-efficacy in refraining from smoking when friends smoke or offer them a cigarette. Parental norms regarding smoking seem to be less restrictive for boys than for girls. CONCLUSIONS The gender differences found in our study do not warrant specific smoking prevention programmes for boys and girls, but it is advisable to include gender-specific issues in prevention activities targeting Romanian adolescents aged 13-14 years.