FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Debt Obligations) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011
Short-term Debt [Line Items]
Bank drafts	$ 162,000,000	$ 113,000,000
Other short-term borrowings		2,000,000
Current portion of long-term debt	664,000,000
Total	826,000,000
Total		115,000,000
Extinguishment Of Debt Disclosures [Abstract]
Extinguishment of Debt, Principal Value	2,052,000,000	71,000,000	750,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Carrying Value	2,081,000,000	88,000,000	849,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Repurchase Price	2,108,000,000	78,000,000	855,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Notional amount of interest rate swaps terminated	6,000,000	34,000,000	319,000,000
Extinguishment of Debt, Swap Termination Proceeds	2,000,000	6,000,000	48,000,000
Extinguishment Of Debt, Total (gain)/loss	27,000,000	(10,000,000)	6,000,000
Line of Credit Facility [Abstract]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	1,500,000,000
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	6,631,000,000	4,669,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Fair value of interest rate swaps	146,000,000	135,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Unamortized basis adjustment from swap terminations	509,000,000	594,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Unamortized bond discounts	(54,000,000)	(22,000,000)
Total	7,232,000,000	5,376,000,000		7,227,000,000	5,209,000,000	5,270,000,000	5,437,000,000	5,332,000,000	5,276,000,000
Principal value of debt maturing in 2013	648,000,000
Principal value of debt maturing in 2014	27,000,000
Principal value of debt maturing in 2016	659,000,000
Principal value of debt maturing in 2017	750,000,000
Principal value of debt maturing after 2017	4,547,000,000
Long-term debt, Fair value	8,285,000,000	6,406,000,000
Interest payments	241,000,000	171,000,000	178,000,000
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt	1,950,000,000		6,000,000
The average amount of commercial paper outstanding	224,000,000
The weighted average interest rate of commercial paper	0.16%
Financial guarantees in the form of stand-by letters of credit and perfomance bonds	249,000,000
Maximum month end amount of commercial paper borrowings outstanding	700,000,000
Notes Due 2036 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	625,000,000	638,000,000
Euro Notes Due 2016 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	659,000,000	652,000,000
Euro Notes Due 2021 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	659,000,000	652,000,000
Notes Due 2018 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	582,000,000	600,000,000
Notes Due 2013 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	597,000,000	597,000,000
Notes Due 2038 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	480,000,000	500,000,000
Debentures Due 2097 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	260,000,000	287,000,000
Debentures Due 2023 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	304,000,000	304,000,000
Debentures Due 2026 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	330,000,000	332,000,000
Notes Due 2017 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	750,000,000
Notes Due 2022 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	750,000,000
Notes Due 2042 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	500,000,000
Other Debt Maturing 2013 To 2030 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	135,000,000	107,000,000
Floating Rate Convertible Senior Debentures Due 2023 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	50,000,000
Floating Rate Convertible Senior Debentures due 2023, Conversion price	$ 39.99
Floating Rate Convertible Senior Debentures due 2023, Principal amount to be converted	1,000
Floating Rate Convertible Senior Debentures due 2023, Conversion ratio in shares	25.0047
Amylin Acquisition [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Principal value	2,000,000,000
Adjustments to Principal Value, Unamortized bond discounts	36,000,000
Deferred loan issuance costs	$ 14,000,000