Backgorund : Smoking is one of the risk factors of chronic diseases with high mortality rate around the world, such as ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer. As stated by the university head (written in SK No. 164/SK-UMY/XII/2011), Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) is a smoking-free region. The statement was published since 2011, nevertheless, prior study conducted on March 2016 found that 45 out of 120 students are active smokers. To decrease the number of active smokers, understanding of factors that lead someone to smoke is needed; hence, active smokers can sincerely have the intention to stop smoking. Methods : This is a descriptive qualitative study with phenomenology model. Data was collected by conducting deep interview with seven informants who were picked using a snowball sampling method. Data were analyzed with qualitative analysis method. Result : The high intention to stop smoking in students is caused by many factors, including health issues, self –control ability, knowledge associated with intrinsic motivation, and the presence of external motivation such as advantages of stoping smoking, and social & environmental factors. But, those leading factors can be inhibited by the motivation to smoke in the first place, non supportive environment, the chances to smoke and access to cigarettes, poor knowledge, addiction to smoking, individualism that causes stress coping to be uneffective, thus making no progression of intention to stop smoking. Of all informants, only three have had factors leading to smoking cessation motivation, and one was found to have a weaker inhibiting factors compared to the leading factors. Conclusion : The decrease of active smokers numbers doesn’t only need understanding about factors leading to smoking cessation motivation, but also the inhibiting factors. A successful smoking cessation can be reached by enhancing the leading factors and suppressing the inhibiting factors.