Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 5,804us-gaap_SalesRevenueNet	$ 5,517us-gaap_SalesRevenueNet
Cost of sales	1,797us-gaap_CostOfGoodsSold	1,752us-gaap_CostOfGoodsSold
Excise taxes on products	1,532us-gaap_ExciseAndSalesTaxes	1,509us-gaap_ExciseAndSalesTaxes
Gross profit	2,475us-gaap_GrossProfit	2,256us-gaap_GrossProfit
Marketing, administration and research costs	610	520
Asset impairment and exit costs	0us-gaap_RestructuringCharges	2us-gaap_RestructuringCharges
Operating income (expense)	1,865us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss	1,734us-gaap_OperatingIncomeLoss
Interest and other debt expense, net	209us-gaap_InterestIncomeExpenseNet	153us-gaap_InterestIncomeExpenseNet
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	228	0
Earnings from equity investment in SABMiller	(134)	(225)
Earnings (loss) before income taxes	1,562	1,806
Provision for income taxes	544us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit	631us-gaap_IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit
Net earnings	1,018us-gaap_ProfitLoss	1,175us-gaap_ProfitLoss
Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	$ 1,018us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss	$ 1,175us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss
Per share data:
Basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. (usd per share)	$ 0.52us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasicAndDiluted	$ 0.59us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasicAndDiluted
Dividends declared (usd per share)	$ 0.52	$ 0.48

The aggregate total costs related to selling a firm's product and services, as well as research and development costs and all other general and administrative expenses. Direct selling expenses (for example, credit, warranty, and advertising) are expenses that can be directly linked to the sale of specific products. Indirect selling expenses are expenses that cannot be directly linked to the sale of specific products, for example telephone expenses, Internet, and postal charges. Research and development costs represent the aggregate costs incurred during an accounting period to research and develop new products/technologies when the technological feasibility has not been reached. General and administrative expenses include salaries of nonsales personnel, rent, utilities, communication, etc.

No definition available.