Background: Tobacco use is widely regarded as the most preventable cause of death and disease among adults. Materials & Method: A cross-sectional community based study was conducted among 155 tobacco consumers in the rural community of New-Hebbal village of Gulbarga district to know the factors responsible for initiating tobacco abuse and its impact on health. The pre designed and pre-tested pro-forma was used to collect the data. Results: The study showed that the highest prevalence of Tobacco abuse in its all forms was in illiterate people (71.62%); among labourers (50.49%); in the age group 31-50 years (47.10%) and in farmers (33.54%). A smokeless form of tobacco was consumed more in the form of Khaini (25.81%) and smoked form as Beedi (40.00%). Among 80% of the population studied, ignorance about hazardous health effect of tobacco usage was noted. Initiation of tobacco abuse was observed in adolescent age group (74.19%). Other prominent factors were peer pressure (56.13%) and pleasurable activity (31.62%). The most common complication was periodontal disease (50.96%) followed by acidity (30.33%). About 41.29 % of the population had tried to quit tobacco due to health complications. Restlessness (28.38%) & irritability (27.75%) were a prominent withdrawal symptom. Conclusion: Hence, effective intervention should be directed towards adolescent age to impart knowledge regarding the harmful consequences of tobacco abuse.                            

Key words:  Tobacco abuse; Khaini; Beedi.