FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Derivatives and Hedging) (Details)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2012 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Euro [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Japanese Yen [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Notes due 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Notes Due 2022 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Notes Due 2042 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Amylin Acquisition [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Notes Due 2017, Notes Due 2022, And Notes Due 2042 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Interest Rate Swap Derivatives [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Other assets [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Interest Rate Swap Derivatives [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Other assets [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Interest Rate Swap Derivatives [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Other assets [Member] Fair Value Level 2 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Interest Rate Swap Derivatives [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Other assets [Member] Fair Value Level 2 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] Fair Value Level 2 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Other assets [Member] Fair Value Level 2 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Accrued expenses [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Accrued expenses [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Accrued expenses [Member] Fair Value Level 2 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts [Member] Designated As Hedging Instrument [Member] Accrued expenses [Member] Fair Value Level 2 [Member] USD ($)
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional amount of derivatives													$ 573,000,000	$ 579,000,000			$ 953,000,000	$ 1,347,000,000			$ 993,000,000	$ 480,000,000
Total derivatives at fair value, assets															154,000,000	135,000,000			88,000,000	47,000,000
Total derivatives at fair value, liabilities																							(23,000,000)	(29,000,000)
Extinguishment Of Debt Disclosures [Abstract]
Extinguishment of Debt, Principal Value	2,052,000,000	71,000,000
Extinguishment Of Debt, Carrying Value	2,081,000,000	88,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Repurchase Price	2,108,000,000	78,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Notional amount of interest rate swaps terminated	6,000,000	34,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Swap Termination Proceeds	2,000,000	6,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Total (gain)/loss	27,000,000	(10,000,000)
Derivatives and Hedging [Line Items]
Principal value	6,601,000,000				4,669,000,000			750,000,000	750,000,000	500,000,000	2,000,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Fair value of interest rate swaps	154,000,000				135,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Unamortized basis adjustment from swap terminations	528,000,000				594,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Unamortized bond discounts	(56,000,000)				(22,000,000)							(36,000,000)
Total Long-term debt	7,227,000,000				5,376,000,000
Current portion of long-term debt	619,000,000
Long-term debt	6,608,000,000				5,376,000,000
Interest payments	125,000,000	52,000,000
Terminated interest rate swaps, Notional amount		1,600,000,000	1,000,000,000
Terminated interest rate swaps, Total proceeds including accrued interest		356,000,000
Terminated interest rate swaps, Accrued interest		66,000,000
Long term debt, fair value	8,350,000,000				6,406,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	1,950,000,000
Deferred loan issuance costs	14,000,000
Significant foreign currency forward contracts, notional amount						1,130,000,000	504,000,000
Period, in years, of reclassification to earnings, cash flow hedges	2
Period, in months, of reclassification to earnings, cash flow hedges	12
Foreign currency forward contract cash flow hedges, net deferred gain to be reclassified during next 12 months	33,000,000
The period, in days, after a forecasted transaction after which cash flow hedge accounting is discontinued	60
Notional amount of nonderivative non-U.S. dollar borrowings designated as net investment hedges	698,000,000			541,000,000
The average amount of commercial paper outstanding	526,000,000
The weighted average interest rate of commercial paper	0.15%
The maximum borrowing capacity of additional revolving credit facility	$ 1,500,000,000