Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Statements of Operations) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 445,760	$ 538,432	$ 900,248	$ 959,356
Expenses:
Cost of sales	304,885	368,174	615,508	654,194
Operating, selling, administrative and general expenses	71,064	93,359	161,581	185,673
Litigation settlement and judgment expense	53	655	53	655
Impairments of goodwill and intangible assets	0	0	58,252	0
Management fee expense	0	0	0	0
Restructuring charges	2,961	0	2,961	0
Operating income	66,797	76,244	61,893	118,834
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense	(29,358)	(32,753)	(64,985)	(70,273)
Change in fair value of derivatives embedded within convertible debt	1,669	3,788	4,999	14,137
Equity in (losses) earnings from real estate ventures	(12,260)	6,391	(18,765)	3,952
Equity in earnings (losses) from investments	2,207	(1,685)	52,359	(323)
Equity in earnings in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Management fee income	0	0	0	0
Other, net	7,635	4,781	(3,020)	12,221
Income before provision for income taxes	36,690	56,766	32,481	78,548
Income tax benefit (expense)	(10,916)	(17,459)	(9,938)	(24,208)
Net income	25,774	39,307	22,543	54,340
Net income attributed to non-controlling interest	0	0	0	(80)
Net income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	25,774	39,307	22,543	54,260
Comprehensive income attributed to non-controlling interest	0	0	0	(80)
Comprehensive income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	26,531	39,912	23,522	55,446
Consolidating Adjustments
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Revenues	(120)	(120)	(239)	(239)
Expenses:
Cost of sales	0	0	0	0
Operating, selling, administrative and general expenses	(120)	(120)	(239)	(239)
Litigation settlement and judgment expense	0	0	0	0
Impairments of goodwill and intangible assets			0
Management fee expense	(3,114)	(2,992)	(6,228)	(5,985)
Restructuring charges	0		0
Operating income	3,114	2,992	6,228	5,985
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense	104	224	218	448
Change in fair value of derivatives embedded within convertible debt	0	0	0	0
Equity in (losses) earnings from real estate ventures	0	0	0	0
Equity in earnings (losses) from investments	0	0	0	0
Equity in earnings in consolidated subsidiaries	(41,484)	(81,301)	30,897	(106,152)
Management fee income	(3,114)	(2,992)	(6,228)	(5,985)
Other, net	234	0	(1,831)	0
Income before provision for income taxes	(41,146)	(81,077)	29,284	(105,704)
Income tax benefit (expense)	0	0	0	0
Net income	(41,146)	(81,077)	29,284	(105,704)
Net income attributed to non-controlling interest				0
Net income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	(41,146)	(81,077)	29,284	(105,704)
Comprehensive income attributed to non-controlling interest				0
Comprehensive income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	(41,296)	(81,311)	28,985	(106,173)
Parent/Issuer | Reportable Legal Entities
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Revenues	0	0	0	0
Expenses:
Cost of sales	0	0	0	0
Operating, selling, administrative and general expenses	8,429	9,515	17,593	19,346
Litigation settlement and judgment expense	0	0	0	0
Impairments of goodwill and intangible assets			0
Management fee expense	0	0	0	0
Restructuring charges	0		0
Operating income	(8,429)	(9,515)	(17,593)	(19,346)
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense	(28,666)	(31,706)	(63,405)	(68,254)
Change in fair value of derivatives embedded within convertible debt	1,669	3,788	4,999	14,137
Equity in (losses) earnings from real estate ventures	0	0	0	0
Equity in earnings (losses) from investments	2,207	(1,685)	52,359	(323)
Equity in earnings in consolidated subsidiaries	46,526	66,163	43,185	101,428
Management fee income	3,114	2,992	6,228	5,985
Other, net	5,154	3,702	(5,700)	10,285
Income before provision for income taxes	21,575	33,739	20,073	43,912
Income tax benefit (expense)	4,199	5,568	2,470	10,348
Net income	25,774	39,307	22,543	54,260
Net income attributed to non-controlling interest				0
Net income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	25,774	39,307	22,543	54,260
Comprehensive income attributed to non-controlling interest				0
Comprehensive income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	26,531	39,912	23,522	55,446
Subsidiary Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Revenues	312,630	294,621	599,818	551,496
Expenses:
Cost of sales	214,067	204,461	411,357	381,764
Operating, selling, administrative and general expenses	16,379	18,167	34,440	34,858
Litigation settlement and judgment expense	53	655	53	655
Impairments of goodwill and intangible assets			0
Management fee expense	3,114	2,992	6,228	5,985
Restructuring charges	0		0
Operating income	79,017	68,346	147,740	128,234
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense	(690)	(1,043)	(1,576)	(2,010)
Change in fair value of derivatives embedded within convertible debt	0	0	0	0
Equity in (losses) earnings from real estate ventures	0	0	0	0
Equity in earnings (losses) from investments	0	0	0	0
Equity in earnings in consolidated subsidiaries	(5,042)	15,138	(74,082)	4,724
Management fee income	0	0	0	0
Other, net	(78)	447	2,229	600
Income before provision for income taxes	73,207	82,888	74,311	131,548
Income tax benefit (expense)	(19,644)	(17,118)	(36,746)	(32,066)
Net income	53,563	65,770	37,565	99,482
Net income attributed to non-controlling interest				0
Net income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	53,563	65,770	37,565	99,482
Comprehensive income attributed to non-controlling interest				0
Comprehensive income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	53,713	66,004	37,864	99,951
Subsidiary Non-Guarantors | Reportable Legal Entities
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Revenues	133,250	243,931	300,669	408,099
Expenses:
Cost of sales	90,818	163,713	204,151	272,430
Operating, selling, administrative and general expenses	46,376	65,797	109,787	131,708
Litigation settlement and judgment expense	0	0	0	0
Impairments of goodwill and intangible assets			58,252
Management fee expense	0	0	0	0
Restructuring charges	2,961		2,961
Operating income	(6,905)	14,421	(74,482)	3,961
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense	(106)	(228)	(222)	(457)
Change in fair value of derivatives embedded within convertible debt	0	0	0	0
Equity in (losses) earnings from real estate ventures	(12,260)	6,391	(18,765)	3,952
Equity in earnings (losses) from investments	0	0	0	0
Equity in earnings in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Management fee income	0	0	0	0
Other, net	2,325	632	2,282	1,336
Income before provision for income taxes	(16,946)	21,216	(91,187)	8,792
Income tax benefit (expense)	4,529	(5,909)	24,338	(2,490)
Net income	(12,417)	15,307	(66,849)	6,302
Net income attributed to non-controlling interest				(80)
Net income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	(12,417)	15,307	(66,849)	6,222
Comprehensive income attributed to non-controlling interest				(80)
Comprehensive income attributed to Vector Group Ltd.	$ (12,417)	$ 15,307	$ (66,849)	$ 6,222