Contingencies (Smoking And Health Class Actions) (Details) (Smoking And Health Class Actions And Aggregated Claims Litigation [Member])	Dec. 31, 2011
Smoking And Health Class Actions And Aggregated Claims Litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Smoking and health class certifications denied or reversed	59

Number of Smoking and Health Class action certifications that have been denied or reversed by courts.

No definition available.

Name:	mo_SmokingAndHealthClassCertificationsDeniedOrReversed
Namespace Prefix:	mo_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant