Net Income (Loss) Available to Common Stockholders, Basic and Diluted

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- Definition

Participating Securities, Distributed and Undistributed Earnings (Loss), Basic and Diluted

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No definition available.

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- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

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- Definition

The average number of shares or units issued and outstanding that are used in calculating diluted EPS or earnings per unit (EPU), determined based on the timing of issuance of shares or units in the period.

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- Definition

Shares issuable for little or no cash consideration upon the satisfaction of certain conditions (contingently issuable shares) are considered outstanding common shares and included in the computation of basic Earnings Per Share as of the date that all necessary conditions have been satisfied (in essence, when issuance of the shares is no longer contingent). Outstanding common shares that are contingently returnable (that is, subject to recall) are treated in the same manner as contingently issuable shares. Contingently issuable shares include shares that (a) will be issued in the future upon the satisfaction of specified conditions, (b) have been placed in escrow and all or part must be returned if specified conditions are not met, or (c) have been issued but the holder must return all or part if specified conditions are not met. The number of contingently issuable shares is determined by relating the portion of time within a reporting period that these shares have been outstanding to the total time in that period.

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Number of [basic] shares or units, after adjustment for contingently issuable shares or units and other shares or units not deemed outstanding, determined by relating the portion of time within a reporting period that common shares or units have been outstanding to the total time in that period.

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Earnings per Share (Details) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net earnings attributable to Altria	$ 1,250	$ 1,943	$ 1,876	$ 1,894	$ 4,966	$ 1,866	$ 1,989	$ 1,401	$ 6,963	$ 10,222	$ 14,239
Less: Distributed and undistributed earnings attributable to share-based awards									(8)	(14)	(24)
Earnings for basic and diluted EPS									$ 6,955	$ 10,208	$ 14,215
Weighted-average shares for basic EPS (in shares)									1,887	1,921	1,952
Plus: contingently issuable PSUs (in shares)									1	0	0
Weighted-average shares for diluted EPS (in shares)									1,888	1,921	1,952