Contingencies MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements (Details) (USD $)		12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	25 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	78 Months Ended					12 Months Ended			96 Months Ended					12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Engle Progency Cases Excluding Lukacs [Member] Liggett [Member] cases	Jul. 31, 2000 Engle Progeny Cases [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Engle Progeny Cases [Member] Liggett [Member] cases	Dec. 31, 2012 Damages From Cigarette Smoking MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Damages From Cigarette Smoking MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements [Member] Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Nov. 30, 1998 Damages From Cigarette Smoking MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements [Member] Liggett [Member] states	Mar. 31, 1998 Damages From Cigarette Smoking MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements [Member] Liggett [Member] states	Dec. 31, 2012 Damages From Cigarette Smoking MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Damages From Cigarette Smoking MSA and Other State Settlement Agreements [Member] Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Master Settlement Agreement [Member]	Nov. 30, 1998 Master Settlement Agreement [Member] Liggett [Member] states	Dec. 31, 2003 NPM Adjustment [Member] states courts	Sep. 30, 2012 NPM Adjustment [Member] states	Dec. 31, 2012 NPM Adjustment [Member] states	Dec. 17, 2012 NPM Adjustment [Member] states	Jun. 30, 2012 NPM Adjustment [Member] person	Nov. 30, 2011 NPM Adjustment [Member] states	Dec. 31, 2005 NPM Adjustment [Member] Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2004 NPM Adjustment [Member] Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2003 NPM Adjustment [Member] Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 NPM Adjustment [Member] Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 NPM Adjustment [Member] Liggett and Vector Tobacco [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 NPM Adjustment [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Gross Versus Net Dispute [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Gross Versus Net Dispute [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2003 Minnesota Settlement [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Florida Settlement [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Florida Settlement [Member] Liggett [Member] years	Feb. 29, 2012 Mississippi Settlement [Member] Liggett [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Lukacs case [Member] Liggett [Member]	Nov. 30, 2008 Lukacs case [Member] Liggett [Member]	Jun. 30, 2002 Lukacs case [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Lukacs case [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2002 Lukacs case [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Calloway v RJ Reynolds [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member] Engle Progency Cases Excluding Lukacs [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum [Member] Florida Settlement [Member] Liggett [Member] years	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Engle Progency Cases Excluding Lukacs [Member] Liggett [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Master Settlement Agreement [Member] sponsorships	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Florida Settlement [Member] Liggett [Member] years
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Settlements / dismissal of litigation		11		112
Number of brand name sponsorships allowed																																								1
Brand Name Sponsorship Period											12 months
Annual payment requirement					$ 9,000,000,000	$ 136,700,000																					$ 100,000	$ 250,000
MSA Payment Obligations									0	0
Payment obligations									1.65%	0.28%														1.25%
Total cigarettes sold	3.50%
Settlement payment			145,000,000,000	1,075,000		(105,000,000)															9,345,000	61,960,000						1,200,000				24,835,000	37,500,000	12,418,000	24,835,000	1,947,000	1,000		3,008,000
Noncurrent receivable																							6,542,000
Amounts not expensed by the Company													1,200,000,000						800,000	3,789,000	6,542,000
Loss Contingency, Aggregate Number of Settling States														49
Courts that decided the issue													48
Courts That Did Not Rule													1
Settling States													45		35
Maximum loss exposure		16,166,000		85,000,000																				38,800,000	2,000,000	11,300,000
Allocable Share of Settling States													90.00%		80.00%
Reduction of any Potential 2003 NPM Adjustment															20.00%
Minimum loss exposure		0		48,000,000
Future MSA payments if method of calculation is changed																								2,500,000
Loss Contingency, Number of States Not Included in Settlement Agreement												4
Years Annual Payments Required																													21
Years Annual Payments Required That Are Subject To Inflation Adjustment																																						12			21
Accrued expense for this matter										1,300,000															5,000,000			3,200,000
Portion responsible for Damages																																			50.00%
Litigation Award Paid																															14,361,000
Number of Persons on Arbitration Panel																	3
Term of Notice from State																														60 days
Cases pending (in cases)				5,037
Loss Contingency, Claims Scheduled For Trial				27
Number of States							46	45
Loss Contingency, Number of Settling States With Diligent Enforcement Not Contested																17		16
Loss Contingency, Number of Settling States With Evidentiary Hearings Held															15
Plaintiffs' verdicts (in cases)		8
Punitive damages																																				$ 7,600,000