Equity Securities Without Readily Determinable Fair Value, Ownership Percentage

No definition available.

Name:	mo_EquitySecuritiesWithoutReadilyDeterminableFairValueOwnershipPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	mo_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of consideration transferred, consisting of acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred by the acquirer, liabilities incurred by the acquirer, and equity interest issued by the acquirer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 30
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116859721&loc=d3e6613-128477

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120321790&loc=d3e6927-128479

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 805
-SubTopic 30
-Section 30
-Paragraph 7
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=116859721&loc=d3e6578-128477

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114001798&loc=d3e33918-111571

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The parent entity's interest in net assets of the subsidiary, expressed as a percentage.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_MinorityInterestOwnershipPercentageByParent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- 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

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis=mo_ABInBevMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis=mo_JUULMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis=mo_CronosGroupInc.Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=mo_HelixInnovationsLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Background and Basis of Presentation (Background Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Apr. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
ABI [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Equity method investment, ownership percentage (approximately)	10.10%	10.00%
JUUL [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Equity securities without readily determinable fair value, ownership percentage		35.00%	35.00%		35.00%
Cronos [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Equity method investment, ownership percentage (approximately)	45.00%	43.50%		45.00%
Helix Innovations LLC [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interest, ownership percentage by parent	80.00%	80.00%
Business combination, consideration transferred	$ 353