Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Balance Sheets) (Details) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 5,616,000,000	$ 2,117,000,000
Receivables	147,000,000	152,000,000
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	895,000,000	874,000,000
Other raw materials	193,000,000	192,000,000
Work in process	467,000,000	696,000,000
Finished product	451,000,000	531,000,000
Inventory, net	2,006,000,000	2,293,000,000
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other current assets	166,000,000	262,000,000
Total current assets	7,935,000,000	4,824,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	5,103,000,000	5,074,000,000
Less accumulated depreciation	3,106,000,000	3,075,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,997,000,000	1,999,000,000
Goodwill	5,177,000,000	5,177,000,000
Other intangible assets, net	12,668,000,000	12,687,000,000
Investments in equity securities	23,861,000,000	23,581,000,000
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	980,000,000	1,003,000,000
Total Assets	52,618,000,000	49,271,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	3,000,000,000.0	0
Current portion of long-term debt	0	1,000,000,000
Accounts payable	278,000,000	325,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	467,000,000	393,000,000
Settlement charges	4,419,000,000	3,346,000,000
Other	1,032,000,000	1,533,000,000
Income taxes	393,000,000	12,000,000
Dividends payable	1,565,000,000	1,565,000,000
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Total current liabilities	11,154,000,000	8,174,000,000
Long-term debt	26,971,000,000	27,042,000,000
Deferred income taxes	5,191,000,000	5,083,000,000
Accrued pension costs	427,000,000	473,000,000
Accrued postretirement health care costs	1,798,000,000	1,797,000,000
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	402,000,000	345,000,000
Total liabilities	45,943,000,000	42,914,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	38,000,000	38,000,000
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock	935,000,000	935,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	5,959,000,000	5,970,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	36,528,000,000	36,539,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,533,000,000)	(2,864,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	(34,346,000,000)	(34,358,000,000)
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	6,543,000,000	6,222,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	94,000,000	97,000,000
Total stockholders’ equity	6,637,000,000	6,319,000,000	$ 14,081,000,000	$ 14,789,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	52,618,000,000	49,271,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Altria Group, Inc. [Member]
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	5,548,000,000	2,022,000,000
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 Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	91,000,000	88,000,000
Other current assets	301,000,000	133,000,000
Total current assets	5,940,000,000	2,243,000,000
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
Investments in equity securities	18,453,000,000	18,071,000,000
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	18,905,000,000	19,312,000,000
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	4,790,000,000	4,790,000,000
Other assets	71,000,000	58,000,000
Total Assets	48,159,000,000	44,474,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	3,000,000,000
Current portion of long-term debt		1,000,000,000
Accounts payable	1,000,000	0
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	0	0
Settlement charges	0	0
Other	312,000,000	570,000,000
Income taxes	6,000,000	6,000,000
Dividends payable	1,565,000,000	1,565,000,000
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	6,278,000,000	4,693,000,000
Total current liabilities	11,162,000,000	7,834,000,000
Long-term debt	26,971,000,000	27,042,000,000
Deferred income taxes	3,228,000,000	3,099,000,000
Accrued pension costs	196,000,000	197,000,000
Accrued postretirement health care costs	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	59,000,000	80,000,000
Total liabilities	41,616,000,000	38,252,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock	935,000,000	935,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	5,959,000,000	5,970,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	36,528,000,000	36,539,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(2,533,000,000)	(2,864,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	(34,346,000,000)	(34,358,000,000)
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	6,543,000,000	6,222,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity	6,543,000,000	6,222,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	48,159,000,000	44,474,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | PM USA [Member]
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	1,000,000	0
Receivables	17,000,000	30,000,000
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	508,000,000	494,000,000
Other raw materials	123,000,000	120,000,000
Work in process	6,000,000	4,000,000
Finished product	87,000,000	119,000,000
Inventory, net	724,000,000	737,000,000
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	5,660,000,000	4,005,000,000
Other current assets	23,000,000	64,000,000
Total current assets	6,425,000,000	4,836,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	2,970,000,000	2,956,000,000
Less accumulated depreciation	2,186,000,000	2,166,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	784,000,000	790,000,000
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangible assets, net	2,000,000	2,000,000
Investments in equity securities	0	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	2,867,000,000	2,831,000,000
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	950,000,000	951,000,000
Total Assets	11,028,000,000	9,410,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	0
Current portion of long-term debt		0
Accounts payable	136,000,000	146,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	391,000,000	320,000,000
Settlement charges	4,410,000,000	3,340,000,000
Other	343,000,000	482,000,000
Income taxes	508,000,000	0
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	587,000,000	514,000,000
Total current liabilities	6,375,000,000	4,802,000,000
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Accrued pension costs	0	0
Accrued postretirement health care costs	1,076,000,000	1,078,000,000
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other liabilities	90,000,000	87,000,000
Total liabilities	7,541,000,000	5,967,000,000
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	393,000,000	352,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(216,000,000)	(219,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	3,487,000,000	3,443,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity	3,487,000,000	3,443,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	11,028,000,000	9,410,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	67,000,000	95,000,000
Receivables	130,000,000	122,000,000
Inventories:
Leaf tobacco	387,000,000	380,000,000
Other raw materials	70,000,000	72,000,000
Work in process	461,000,000	692,000,000
Finished product	364,000,000	412,000,000
Inventory, net	1,282,000,000	1,556,000,000
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	1,361,000,000	1,359,000,000
Other current assets	68,000,000	114,000,000
Total current assets	2,908,000,000	3,246,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	2,133,000,000	2,118,000,000
Less accumulated depreciation	920,000,000	909,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	1,213,000,000	1,209,000,000
Goodwill	5,177,000,000	5,177,000,000
Other intangible assets, net	12,666,000,000	12,685,000,000
Investments in equity securities	5,408,000,000	5,510,000,000
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	0	0
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	0	0
Other assets	567,000,000	603,000,000
Total Assets	27,939,000,000	28,430,000,000
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	0
Current portion of long-term debt		0
Accounts payable	141,000,000	179,000,000
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	76,000,000	73,000,000
Settlement charges	9,000,000	6,000,000
Other	377,000,000	481,000,000
Income taxes	105,000,000	55,000,000
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	247,000,000	245,000,000
Total current liabilities	955,000,000	1,039,000,000
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	2,571,000,000	2,593,000,000
Accrued pension costs	231,000,000	276,000,000
Accrued postretirement health care costs	722,000,000	719,000,000
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	4,790,000,000	4,790,000,000
Other liabilities	253,000,000	178,000,000
Total liabilities	9,522,000,000	9,595,000,000
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	38,000,000	38,000,000
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock	9,000,000	9,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	27,566,000,000	27,565,000,000
Earnings reinvested in the business	(7,441,000,000)	(6,997,000,000)
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	(1,849,000,000)	(1,877,000,000)
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	18,285,000,000	18,700,000,000
Noncontrolling interests	94,000,000	97,000,000
Total stockholders’ equity	18,379,000,000	18,797,000,000
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	27,939,000,000	28,430,000,000
Total Consolidating Adjustments [Member]
Assets
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 Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(7,112,000,000)	(5,452,000,000)
Other current assets	(226,000,000)	(49,000,000)
Total current assets	(7,338,000,000)	(5,501,000,000)
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
Investments in equity securities	0	0
Investment in consolidated subsidiaries	(21,772,000,000)	(22,143,000,000)
Due from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(4,790,000,000)	(4,790,000,000)
Other assets	(608,000,000)	(609,000,000)
Total Assets	(34,508,000,000)	(33,043,000,000)
Liabilities
Short-term borrowings	0
Current portion of long-term debt		0
Accounts payable	0	0
Accrued liabilities:
Marketing	0	0
Settlement charges	0	0
Other	0	0
Income taxes	(226,000,000)	(49,000,000)
Dividends payable	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(7,112,000,000)	(5,452,000,000)
Total current liabilities	(7,338,000,000)	(5,501,000,000)
Long-term debt	0	0
Deferred income taxes	(608,000,000)	(609,000,000)
Accrued pension costs	0	0
Accrued postretirement health care costs	0	0
Due to Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries	(4,790,000,000)	(4,790,000,000)
Other liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities	(12,736,000,000)	(10,900,000,000)
Contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interest	0	0
Stockholders’ Equity
Common stock	(9,000,000)	(9,000,000)
Additional paid-in capital	(30,876,000,000)	(30,875,000,000)
Earnings reinvested in the business	7,048,000,000	6,645,000,000
Accumulated other comprehensive losses	2,065,000,000	2,096,000,000
Cost of repurchased stock	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria	(21,772,000,000)	(22,143,000,000)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total stockholders’ equity	(21,772,000,000)	(22,143,000,000)
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity	$ (34,508,000,000)	$ (33,043,000,000)