Background; Tobacco use which includes direct tobacco smoking, use of smokeless and indirect use of tobacco through exposure to smoke from tobacco smoke is a single most cause of avoidable or preventable death in the whole world. Second hand smoke has been attributed to be a major preventable cause of death globally. Tobacco use among youths has become a public health concern globally as several studies have revealed that it‟s the leading cause of mental health among youths Problem statement; According to reports from UBOS (2011) the percentage of male youth smokers in Kampala increased from 12 percent to 19 percent and female youths tobacco smokers increased from 11 percent to 15 percent. Despite the tobacco control laws and some of the measures put in place the practice remains largely unregulated among the youths in Kampala especially in Makindye Division. Objective; To determine the factors that influence tobacco use among youths 18 – 35 years in Makindye Division -Kampala district. Methods; The design was a descriptive cross sectional study which was used to determine the factors influencing the tobacco use among youths. The study populations were the youths aged 18-35 years both male and female in Makindye division Kampala district both in and out of school. The study undertook probability sampling techniques. The multistage random sampling technique; first the researcher randomly sampled Makindye East and West. Data collection techniques included both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The quantitative data collection method involved questionnaires and qualitative data involved a key informant interview interviews and observations. Results; The socio -demographic factors which had an influence on the use of tobacco among the respondents in Makindye division were age with (p=0.003), sex (p=0.001), education level (p=0.010), marital status (p=0.021) having friends who smoke (p=0.001) and then having parents who smoke (p=0.006). Socio- economic factors were found to have an influence on the use of tobacco among the respondents. Specifically, these were the employment status (p = 0.004), the average monthly incomes (p=0.002), and the type of residence (p=0.024). Higher rates of use of tobacco were observed among the youth who were employed, the youth who reportedly earned between 300,000 – 600,000/= and those who stayed in urban areas. Advertisements of cigarette smoking had a strong influence (p=0.001) where respondents who had seen the advertisements used tobacco more than those who had not, having material with tobacco product brand logo on it was also significant for (p=0.001), for which the respondents who had the materials used tobacco more than those who did not have them. Conclusions; This study has shown that frequency of tobacco use among youth in Makindye is on the steady increase and there is ominous need to engage this social vice which is eating very deep into the youth community of Makindye division. Recommendations; Community leaders and residents in Makindye division need to come up with interventions to mitigate the culture of tobacco use as part of life and empower their future generations to have healthy, tobacco-free lives. There is need for intervention among secondary school students so as to prevent possible continued trend of tobacco use. Essential components of such a programme should include raising awareness on the detrimental effects of tobacco dipping, chewing and smoking on health among secondary school students.

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