Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets) (Details) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 1,333,000,000	$ 1,253,000,000	$ 4,569,000,000
Receivables	142,000,000	142,000,000
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	940,000,000	941,000,000
Other raw materials	186,000,000	170,000,000
Work in process	647,000,000	560,000,000
Finished product	558,000,000	554,000,000
Inventory, net	2,331,000,000	2,225,000,000
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Income taxes	167,000,000	461,000,000
Other current assets	326,000,000	263,000,000
Total current assets	4,299,000,000	4,344,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	4,950,000,000	4,879,000,000
Less accumulated depreciation	3,012,000,000	2,965,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,938,000,000	1,914,000,000
Goodwill	5,196,000,000	5,307,000,000	5,285,000,000
Other intangible assets, net	12,279,000,000	12,400,000,000	12,036,000,000
Investment in AB InBev	17,696,000,000	17,952,000,000
Investment in JUUL	12,800,000,000	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	1,430,000,000	1,285,000,000
Total Assets	55,638,000,000	43,202,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	12,704,000,000	0
Current portion of long-term debt	1,144,000,000	864,000,000
Accounts payable	399,000,000	374,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	586,000,000	695,000,000
Employment costs	189,000,000	188,000,000
Settlement charges	3,454,000,000	2,442,000,000
Other	1,214,000,000	971,000,000
Dividends payable	1,503,000,000	1,258,000,000
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Total current liabilities	21,193,000,000	6,792,000,000
Long-term debt	11,898,000,000	13,030,000,000
Deferred income taxes	5,172,000,000	5,247,000,000
Accrued pension costs	544,000,000	445,000,000
Accrued postretirement health care costs	1,749,000,000	1,987,000,000
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	254,000,000	283,000,000
Total liabilities	40,810,000,000	27,784,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	39,000,000	38,000,000
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	935,000,000	935,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	5,961,000,000	5,952,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	43,962,000,000	42,251,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,547,000,000)	(1,897,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	(33,524,000,000)	(31,864,000,000)
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	14,787,000,000	15,377,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	2,000,000	3,000,000
Total stockholders’ equity	14,789,000,000	15,380,000,000	$ 12,773,000,000	$ 2,873,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	55,638,000,000	43,202,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Altria Group, Inc. [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	1,277,000,000	1,203,000,000
Receivables	0	1,000,000
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 and subsidiaries	46,000,000	2,000,000
Income taxes	100,000,000	0
Other current assets	41,000,000	11,000,000
Total current assets	1,464,000,000	1,217,000,000
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 AB InBev	17,696,000,000	17,952,000,000
Investment in JUUL	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	25,996,000,000	13,111,000,000
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	4,790,000,000	4,790,000,000
Other assets	193,000,000	34,000,000
Total Assets	50,139,000,000	37,104,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	12,704,000,000
Current portion of long-term debt	1,144,000,000	864,000,000
Accounts payable	1,000,000	2,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	0	0
Employment costs	16,000,000	21,000,000
Settlement charges	0	0
Other	279,000,000	389,000,000
Dividends payable	1,503,000,000	1,258,000,000
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	4,499,000,000	3,040,000,000
Total current liabilities	20,146,000,000	5,574,000,000
Long-term debt	11,898,000,000	13,030,000,000
Deferred income taxes	3,010,000,000	2,809,000,000
Accrued pension costs	187,000,000	206,000,000
Accrued postretirement health care costs	0	0
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	111,000,000	108,000,000
Total liabilities	35,352,000,000	21,727,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	935,000,000	935,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	5,961,000,000	5,952,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	43,962,000,000	42,251,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,547,000,000)	(1,897,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	(33,524,000,000)	(31,864,000,000)
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	14,787,000,000	15,377,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity	14,787,000,000	15,377,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	50,139,000,000	37,104,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | PM USA [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	0	1,000,000
Receivables	18,000,000	10,000,000
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	561,000,000	579,000,000
Other raw materials	123,000,000	111,000,000
Work in process	2,000,000	5,000,000
Finished product	128,000,000	128,000,000
Inventory, net	814,000,000	823,000,000
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	3,828,000,000	2,413,000,000
Income taxes	94,000,000	542,000,000
Other current assets	167,000,000	147,000,000
Total current assets	4,921,000,000	3,936,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	2,928,000,000	2,930,000,000
Less accumulated depreciation	2,111,000,000	2,086,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	817,000,000	844,000,000
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	2,000,000	2,000,000
Investment in AB InBev	0	0
Investment in JUUL	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	2,825,000,000	2,818,000,000
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	955,000,000	671,000,000
Total Assets	9,520,000,000	8,271,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	0
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	91,000,000	91,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	483,000,000	578,000,000
Employment costs	11,000,000	14,000,000
Settlement charges	3,448,000,000	2,437,000,000
Other	513,000,000	433,000,000
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	407,000,000	317,000,000
Total current liabilities	4,953,000,000	3,870,000,000
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Accrued pension costs	0	0
Accrued postretirement health care costs	1,072,000,000	1,214,000,000
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	47,000,000	49,000,000
Total liabilities	6,072,000,000	5,133,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	0	0
Additional paid-in capital	3,310,000,000	3,310,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	359,000,000	96,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(221,000,000)	(268,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	3,448,000,000	3,138,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity	3,448,000,000	3,138,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	9,520,000,000	8,271,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	56,000,000	49,000,000
Receivables	124,000,000	131,000,000
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	379,000,000	362,000,000
Other raw materials	63,000,000	59,000,000
Work in process	645,000,000	555,000,000
Finished product	430,000,000	426,000,000
Inventory, net	1,517,000,000	1,402,000,000
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	1,194,000,000	1,022,000,000
Income taxes	0	17,000,000
Other current assets	118,000,000	105,000,000
Total current assets	3,009,000,000	2,726,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	2,022,000,000	1,949,000,000
Less accumulated depreciation	901,000,000	879,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,121,000,000	1,070,000,000
Goodwill	5,196,000,000	5,307,000,000
Other intangible assets, net	12,277,000,000	12,398,000,000
Investment in AB InBev	0	0
Investment in JUUL	12,800,000,000
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	952,000,000	1,056,000,000
Total Assets	35,355,000,000	22,557,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	0
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Accounts payable	307,000,000	281,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	103,000,000	117,000,000
Employment costs	162,000,000	153,000,000
Settlement charges	6,000,000	5,000,000
Other	449,000,000	247,000,000
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	162,000,000	80,000,000
Total current liabilities	1,189,000,000	883,000,000
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	2,832,000,000	2,914,000,000
Accrued pension costs	357,000,000	239,000,000
Accrued postretirement health care costs	677,000,000	773,000,000
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	4,790,000,000	4,790,000,000
Other liabilities	96,000,000	126,000,000
Total liabilities	9,941,000,000	9,725,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	39,000,000	38,000,000
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	9,000,000	9,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	25,047,000,000	12,045,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	2,201,000,000	2,243,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(1,884,000,000)	(1,506,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	25,373,000,000	12,791,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	2,000,000	3,000,000
Total stockholders’ equity	25,375,000,000	12,794,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	35,355,000,000	22,557,000,000
Total Consolidating Adjustments [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	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 and subsidiaries	(5,068,000,000)	(3,437,000,000)
Income taxes	(27,000,000)	(98,000,000)
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	(5,095,000,000)	(3,535,000,000)
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 AB InBev	0	0
Investment in JUUL	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	(28,821,000,000)	(15,929,000,000)
Due from Altria and subsidiaries	(4,790,000,000)	(4,790,000,000)
Other assets	(670,000,000)	(476,000,000)
Total Assets	(39,376,000,000)	(24,730,000,000)
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	0
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	(27,000,000)	(98,000,000)
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	(5,068,000,000)	(3,437,000,000)
Total current liabilities	(5,095,000,000)	(3,535,000,000)
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	(670,000,000)	(476,000,000)
Accrued pension costs	0	0
Accrued postretirement health care costs	0	0
Due to Altria and subsidiaries	(4,790,000,000)	(4,790,000,000)
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(10,555,000,000)	(8,801,000,000)
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders' Equity
Common stock	(9,000,000)	(9,000,000)
Additional paid-in capital	(28,357,000,000)	(15,355,000,000)
Earnings reinvested in the business	(2,560,000,000)	(2,339,000,000)
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	2,105,000,000	1,774,000,000
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	(28,821,000,000)	(15,929,000,000)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity	(28,821,000,000)	(15,929,000,000)
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	$ (39,376,000,000)	$ (24,730,000,000)