Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 6,083	$ 6,066
Cost of sales	1,810	1,874
Excise taxes on products	1,494	1,536
Gross profit	2,779	2,656
Marketing, administration and research costs	528	559
Asset impairment and exit costs	4	120
Operating (expense) income	2,247	1,977
Interest and other debt expense, net	179	200
Earnings from equity investment	(23)	(66)
Gain on AB InBev/SABMiller business combination	0	(40)
(Loss) earnings before income taxes and equity earnings of subsidiaries	2,091	1,883
Provision for income taxes	689	665
Net earnings	1,402	1,218
Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)	(1)
Net earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	$ 1,401	$ 1,217
Per share data:
Basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. (usd per share)	$ 0.72	$ 0.62
Dividends declared (usd per share)	$ 0.61	$ 0.565

Asset Impairment and Business Exit Costs

No definition available.

Name:	mo_AssetImpairmentandBusinessExitCosts
Namespace Prefix:	mo_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

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.

+ References

No definition available.