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This year, however, the Legislature simultaneously raided the tobacco settlement fund and gutted the Hawai'i Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund, which uses money from the tobacco settlement fund to run those anti-smoking programs. Senate Bill 292 diverts 25.5 percent of the settlement fund's money to the General Fund and shrinks the Prevention and Control Trust Fund's share of the settlement fund's money from 12.5 percent to 6.5 percent. SB 884, which raids various special funds to bolster the General Fund, finds that the Tobacco settlement fund has an "excess" of $20 million and appropriates it to the General Fund.

According to Evans, the tobacco settlement fund had already taken a beating from the bad economy: "The trust fund corpus was about 55 million last year, and it's been losing money ever since due to the market. The current balance is about 33 million." Subtract $20 million from that, and then cut 12.5 percent of that to 6.5 percent, and there's not a lot left for anti-smoking programs. . . .

Tracking tobacco money isn't always easy. Reynolds American, formerly RJ Reynolds, usually donates in its own name -- but the world's biggest tobacco peddler, Altria, donates under a host of names, including Altria, Altria Client Services, Altria Corporate Services, Philip Morris USA and UST Public Affairs. At least one company executive has donated in his own name. And the company also hires a whole network of lobbying firms. In Hawai'i, it uses the services of three lobbyists: Celeste Y.K. Nip, Dan Smith, and George A. "Red" Morris. Reynolds uses John Radcliffe to lobby in Hawai'i. Smith made a $2,000 donation to Honolulu councilmember Romy Cachola's unsuccessful bid for the Senate; Cachola's campaign spending report lists Smith as a District Director for Altria in Richmond, Virginia. Morris, Radcliffe and Nip distributed tens of thousands in campaign donations to dozens of candidates during the 2008 election season -- but since they represent multiple clients, it's difficult to say whether the money they pass out is tobacco money or not.

But even without counting Morris's, Radcliffe's and Nip's contributions, Altria, its subsidiaries and officers passed out at least $51,309 to Hawai'i politicians during the 2008 elections, while Reynolds chipped in at least $19,500. . . .

Cigarette paper

Who got how much and from whom

Rep. Henry Aquino

Altria Client Services $1,000

Reynolds American $1,000

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