Mississippi’s Attorney General Mike Moore puts TV star Regis Philbin to shame. Philbin, who is the host of ABC’s popular show &uot;Who Wants to be a Millionaire,&uot; has received his latest notoriety from handing over $1 million checks to winners on the show.

And while the show has been gaining popularity, the millions of dollars Moore won for the state through lawsuits with several tobacco companies just keeps growing.

In fact, the most recent deposit into the tobacco money trust fund was for $200 million dollars, which put the total to date at around half a billion dollars.

State Treasurer Marshall Bennett said that in three years, the fund should top $1 billion and has the potential of delivering about $100 million in interest each year.

And of course everyone wants a piece of it. Lawmakers facing low tax collections are salivating at the possibility of getting their hands on the loot.

Fortunately that money sits safely in a trust fund, the interest of which will be used to help pay state health care expenses. We can thank the 1999 Legislature for doing that.

And the future of the money?

Lawmakers could change the law and choose to use the money for almost any purpose, but we hope they show more wisdom than that.

We encourage lawmakers to remember the intent of the lawsuits — to recoup funds the state has spent on health care for folks with smoking-related diseases.

As difficult as it may be to cut programs while the tobacco fund sits there like a big, tempting pot of honey, legislators must resist the urge. Besides, even Philbin makes you work for your millions.

And that’s our final answer.