The purpose of the study was to test the applicability of the modernization framework to changes and regional diversity in adolescent smoking. A biannual cross-sectional survey data from the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey was used. A national sample of 14, 16- and 18-year-old Finns answered a mailed questionnaire every other year from 1977. The 1977, 1979 and 1981 data were pooled as were data from 1983 and 1985 (N = 8505, 9777). The 1987 sample was weighted in accordance with the province size (N = 11,374). Modernization trends found in the literature were apparent among adolescent smokers between 1977 and 1987. The use of hand-rolled cigarettes nearly stopped when the use of manufactured cigarettes increased. The use of low-tar cigarettes increased and that of other tobacco types decreased. Regional differences in tobacco types were associated with the structural modernization level of the regions. Snuff use was most prevalent in the most modern and the most traditional regions. The modernization framework proved useful in explaining changes in smoking.