I was only 15 when I started smoking. My best friend and I went to a gas station and bought "special" cigarettes -- vanilla flavored.

Growing up in Germany, nothing was easier than buying a pack of smokes. All anyone had to do was walk to one of the vending machines found on every other block, throw in four Euros and light up. It was so simple that a child could do it -- literally.

Here in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of flavored cigarettes on Sept. 25, and it was high time that something be done.

Studies show that 17-year-old smokers are three times more likely to smoke flavored cigarettes than adult smokers, according to Kevin Keane, the director of federal advocacy for the American Cancer Society.

The ban is the first move to enact anti-tobacco initiatives as outlined by the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act, signed by President Barack Obama in June.

"People say it's about freedom of choice," said Dr. Albert Angelo, a health educator at SF State's Health Center. "But cigarettes are a health issue, not a moral issue."

Although the FDA is worrying about a demographic that isn't legally supposed to buy cigarettes anyway, it's good that something is finally being done to protect American children from the claws of the tobacco industry.

According to a 2007 survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 percent of high school students have tried cigarette smoking at one point.

Think about it. The Joe Camel advertising campaign was created for recognition purposes, so children could associate Camel with cigarettes just as they associate Mickey Mouse with Disney.

In the same way, cigarettes disguised by sweet flavors will reel kids in while they are young -- guaranteeing life-long customers.

"Fruity and candy flavors are used to mask the unpleasant flavor of tobacco," Keane said. "Of course peer pressure is part of it. There are many factors that contribute -- this is just one piece of the puzzle."

Even though I'm still an occasional smoker, I agree with the ban.

America is definitely moving in the right direction by finally slapping regulations on the tobacco industry. Just like toys in a McDonald's Happy Meal turn children onto unhealthy fast food, candy and fruity-flavored cigarettes are just another advertising campaign targeted at the country's youth. American children constantly become victims of capitalism and corporations, set on creating a new generation of unhealthy consumers.

Cigarettes don't have to be banned entirely -- that's infringing on freedom of choice. But we need to protect the youth.