Background Tobacco production continues to increase in low-income and middle-income countries including in Bangladesh. It has spreads to different parts of Bangladesh and is now threatening food cultivation, the environment and health. The aim of this study is to determine the factors those are influenced farmers’ decisions to grow tobacco.

Methods We surveyed 371 tobacco farmers using a simple random sampling in the Meherpur district of Bangladesh. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the variables affecting farmers’ decision to cultivate tobacco.

Results Approximately 87.0% of the respondents were contract farmers with different tobacco companies. Almost 83.3% of the farmers had intentions to continue tobacco farming. Binary logistic regression results suggest that company’s incentives to farmers, farmers’ profitability, a guaranteed market for the tobacco crop and economic viability were the variables most affecting the decision to cultivate tobacco.

Conclusions Governments seeking to shift farmers away from tobacco will need to consider how to address the dynamics revealed in this research.