Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 2,900	$ 3,270	$ 2,314	$ 1,871
Receivables	193	268
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	876	934
Other raw materials	173	170
Work in process	349	316
Finished product	348	359
Inventory, net	1,746	1,779
Deferred income taxes	1,216	1,207
Other current assets	260	396
Total current assets	6,315	6,920
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	4,750	4,728
Less accumulated depreciation	2,648	2,512
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,102	2,216
Goodwill	5,174	5,174
Other intangible assets, net	12,078	12,098
Investment in SABMiller	6,637	5,509
Other assets	425	1,257
Total consumer products assets	32,731	33,174
Financial services
Finance assets, net	2,581	3,559
Other assets	17	18
Total financial services assets	2,598	3,577
Total Assets	35,329	36,751
Consumer products
Current portion of long-term debt	1,459	600
Accounts payable	451	503
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	568	430
Employment costs	184	225
Settlement charges	3,616	3,513
Other	1,085	1,320
Dividends payable	888	841
Total current liabilities	8,251	7,432
Long-term debt	12,419	13,089
Deferred income taxes	4,953	4,751
Accrued pension costs	1,735	1,662
Accrued postretirement health care costs	2,504	2,359
Other liabilities	556	602
Total consumer products liabilities	30,418	29,895
Financial services
Deferred income taxes	1,699	2,811
Other liabilities	8	330
Total financial services liabilities	1,707	3,141
Total liabilities	32,125	33,036
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	34	32
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	935	935
Additional paid-in capital	5,688	5,674
Earnings reinvested in the business	24,316	23,583
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,040)	(1,887)	(1,484)	(1,561)
Cost of repurchased stock	(25,731)	(24,625)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	3,168	3,680
Noncontrolling interests	2	3
Total stockholders' equity	3,170	3,683	5,195	4,072
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	35,329	36,751
Consolidated [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	2,900	3,270	2,314	1,871
Receivables	193	268
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	876	934
Other raw materials	173	170
Work in process	349	316
Finished product	348	359
Inventory, net	1,746	1,779
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Deferred income taxes	1,216	1,207
Other current assets	260	396
Total current assets	6,315	6,920
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	4,750	4,728
Less accumulated depreciation	2,648	2,512
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,102	2,216
Goodwill	5,174	5,174
Other intangible assets, net	12,078	12,098
Investment in SABMiller	6,637	5,509
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	425	1,257
Total consumer products assets	32,731	33,174
Financial services
Finance assets, net	2,581	3,559
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	17	18
Total financial services assets	2,598	3,577
Total Assets	35,329	36,751
Consumer products
Current portion of long-term debt	1,459	600
Accounts payable	451	503
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	568	430
Employment costs	184	225
Settlement charges	3,616	3,513
Other	1,085	1,320
Dividends payable	888	841
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Total current liabilities	8,251	7,432
Long-term debt	12,419	13,089
Deferred income taxes	4,953	4,751
Accrued pension costs	1,735	1,662
Accrued postretirement health care costs	2,504	2,359
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	556	602
Total consumer products liabilities	30,418	29,895
Financial services
Deferred income taxes	1,699	2,811
Other liabilities	8	330
Total financial services liabilities	1,707	3,141
Total liabilities	32,125	33,036
Contingencies (Note 18)
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	34	32
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	935	935
Additional paid-in capital	5,688	5,674
Earnings reinvested in the business	24,316	23,583
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,040)	(1,887)
Cost of repurchased stock	(25,731)	(24,625)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	3,168	3,680
Noncontrolling interests	2	3
Total stockholders' equity	3,170	3,683
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	35,329	36,751
Altria Group, Inc. [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	2,862	3,245	2,298	1,862
Receivables	101	174
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	0	0
Other raw materials	0	0
Work in process	0	0
Finished product	0	0
Inventory, net	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	834	403
Deferred income taxes	0	9
Other current assets	0	6
Total current assets	3,797	3,837
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	2	2
Less accumulated depreciation	2	2
Property, plant and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Investment in SABMiller	6,637	5,509
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	9,521	7,009
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	4,500	6,500
Other assets	136	941
Total consumer products assets	24,591	23,796
Financial services
Finance assets, net	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	0	0
Total financial services assets	0	0
Total Assets	24,591	23,796
Consumer products
Current portion of long-term debt	1,459	0
Accounts payable	4	69
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	0	0
Employment costs	27	29
Settlement charges	0	0
Other	469	384
Dividends payable	888	841
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	3,965	3,792
Total current liabilities	6,812	5,115
Long-term debt	12,120	12,790
Deferred income taxes	2,034	1,787
Accrued pension costs	235	236
Accrued postretirement health care costs	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	222	188
Total consumer products liabilities	21,423	20,116
Financial services
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total financial services liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	21,423	20,116
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	935	935
Additional paid-in capital	5,688	5,674
Earnings reinvested in the business	24,316	23,583
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,040)	(1,887)
Cost of repurchased stock	(25,731)	(24,625)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	3,168	3,680
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders' equity	3,168	3,680
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	24,591	23,796
PM USA [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Receivables	7	16
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	512	565
Other raw materials	127	128
Work in process	3	4
Finished product	117	126
Inventory, net	759	823
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	3,424	3,007
Deferred income taxes	1,246	1,157
Other current assets	193	224
Total current assets	5,629	5,227
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	3,253	3,280
Less accumulated depreciation	2,073	2,005
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,180	1,275
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	2	2
Investment in SABMiller	0	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	3,018	3,035
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	530	586
Total consumer products assets	10,359	10,125
Financial services
Finance assets, net	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	0	0
Total financial services assets	0	0
Total Assets	10,359	10,125
Consumer products
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	155	159
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	526	390
Employment costs	10	12
Settlement charges	3,610	3,508
Other	506	623
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	409	474
Total current liabilities	5,216	5,166
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Accrued pension costs	0	0
Accrued postretirement health care costs	1,759	1,562
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	178	216
Total consumer products liabilities	7,153	6,944
Financial services
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total financial services liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	7,153	6,944
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	0	0
Additional paid-in capital	3,321	3,283
Earnings reinvested in the business	314	210
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(429)	(312)
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	3,206	3,181
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders' equity	3,206	3,181
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	10,359	10,125
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	38	25	16	9
Receivables	85	78
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	364	369
Other raw materials	46	42
Work in process	346	312
Finished product	231	233
Inventory, net	987	956
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	1,157	1,765
Deferred income taxes	16	41
Other current assets	175	242
Total current assets	2,458	3,107
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	1,495	1,446
Less accumulated depreciation	573	505
Property, plant and equipment, net	922	941
Goodwill	5,174	5,174
Other intangible assets, net	12,076	12,096
Investment in SABMiller	0	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	124	111
Total consumer products assets	20,754	21,429
Financial services
Finance assets, net	2,581	3,559
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	14	292
Other assets	17	18
Total financial services assets	2,612	3,869
Total Assets	23,366	25,298
Consumer products
Current portion of long-term debt	0	600
Accounts payable	292	275
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	42	40
Employment costs	147	184
Settlement charges	6	5
Other	264	389
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	1,055	1,201
Total current liabilities	1,806	2,694
Long-term debt	299	299
Deferred income taxes	3,284	3,345
Accrued pension costs	1,500	1,426
Accrued postretirement health care costs	745	797
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	4,500	6,500
Other liabilities	156	198
Total consumer products liabilities	12,290	15,259
Financial services
Deferred income taxes	1,699	2,811
Other liabilities	8	330
Total financial services liabilities	1,707	3,141
Total liabilities	13,997	18,400
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	34	32
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	9	9
Additional paid-in capital	10,272	8,238
Earnings reinvested in the business	943	265
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(1,891)	(1,649)
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	9,333	6,863
Noncontrolling interests	2	3
Total stockholders' equity	9,335	6,866
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	23,366	25,298
Total Consolidating Adjustments [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Receivables	0	0
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	0	0
Other raw materials	0	0
Work in process	0	0
Finished product	0	0
Inventory, net	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(5,415)	(5,175)
Deferred income taxes	(46)	0
Other current assets	(108)	(76)
Total current assets	(5,569)	(5,251)
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	0	0
Less accumulated depreciation	0	0
Property, plant and equipment, net	0	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	0	0
Investment in SABMiller	0	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	(12,539)	(10,044)
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(4,500)	(6,500)
Other assets	(365)	(381)
Total consumer products assets	(22,973)	(22,176)
Financial services
Finance assets, net	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(14)	(292)
Other assets	0	0
Total financial services assets	(14)	(292)
Total Assets	(22,987)	(22,468)
Consumer products
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	0	0
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	0	0
Employment costs	0	0
Settlement charges	0	0
Other	(154)	(76)
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(5,429)	(5,467)
Total current liabilities	(5,583)	(5,543)
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	(365)	(381)
Accrued pension costs	0	0
Accrued postretirement health care costs	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(4,500)	(6,500)
Other liabilities	0	0
Total consumer products liabilities	(10,448)	(12,424)
Financial services
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Other liabilities	0	0
Total financial services liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(10,448)	(12,424)
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	(9)	(9)
Additional paid-in capital	(13,593)	(11,521)
Earnings reinvested in the business	(1,257)	(475)
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	2,320	1,961
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	(12,539)	(10,044)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders' equity	(12,539)	(10,044)
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity	$ (22,987)	$ (22,468)