Defined Benefit Plan, Additional Contributions by Employer

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	mo_
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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of contributions made by the employer to defined benefit plans.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (d)(5)(ii)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65897934&loc=d3e1928-114920

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 60
-Section 35
-Paragraph 123
-Subparagraph B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64937487&loc=d3e36068-114959

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 30
-Section 35
-Paragraph 63
-Subparagraph B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64937038&loc=d3e12551-114930

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65897934&loc=d3e1928-114920

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 715
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (d)(5)(iv)(01)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65897934&loc=d3e1928-114920

+ Details

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Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
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- Definition

Amount of employer's best estimate of contributions expected to be paid to the plan in the current remaining fiscal period.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
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- Definition

The increase (decrease) during the reporting period in the amount due to fund pension and non-pension benefits to employees, retired and disabled former employees.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66902209&loc=d3e3602-108585

+ Details

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- Details

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Benefit Plans (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Benefit Plans (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Increase to liabilities			$ (56)	$ 78
Pension [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Increase to liabilities		$ 250
Voluntary employer contributions	$ 500
Additional employer contributions			20
Pension [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Anticipated additional employer contributions			$ 15
Postretirement [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Increase to liabilities		$ 70