BUSINESS COMBINATIONS - Narrative (Details)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				0 Months Ended													0 Months Ended		2 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended											9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended					0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended												0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended									0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended				0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)		Apr. 30, 2013 Actavis Specialty Brands Metronidazole 1.3 Percent Vaginal Gel Antibiotic Development Product [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Dec. 31, 2012 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Sep. 30, 2013 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Dec. 31, 2012 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Sep. 30, 2013 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 31, 2012 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Sep. 30, 2013 Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Developed Markets USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2013 Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Emerging Markets USD ($)		Aug. 05, 2013 B&L USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2013 B&L USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 B&L USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 B&L 9.875% Senior Notes USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L 9.875% Senior Notes	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L Various Vision Care Products USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L Various Pharmaceutical Products USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L Various Surgical Products USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L IPR&D [Member]	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L Development Costs USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 B&L Developed Markets USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L Developed Markets USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 B&L Emerging Markets USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L Emerging Markets USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Obagi, Eisai, Natur Produkt and other smaller acquisitions USD ($)		Apr. 25, 2013 Obagi Medical Products, Inc USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Obagi Medical Products, Inc Developed Markets USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Obagi Medical Products, Inc Emerging Markets USD ($)	Feb. 20, 2013 Eisai USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Eisai Developed Markets USD ($)	Feb. 01, 2013 Natur Produkt USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Natur Produkt USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Natur Produkt Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicis USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicis USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Medicis Metronidazole 1.3 Percent Vaginal Gel Antibiotic Development Product [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Medicis 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Sep. 30, 2013 Medicis 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Sep. 30, 2013 Medicis 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Development of dermatology products for treatment of bacterial vaginosis USD ($)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Development of several aesthetics programs USD ($)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Minimum	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Maximum	Jun. 18, 2012 OraPharma USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2013 OraPharma USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 OraPharma USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 OraPharma USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 OraPharma Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2012 Johnson and Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 Johnson and Johnson North America USD ($)	Sep. 24, 2012 QLT Inc and QLT Ophthalmics Inc. USD ($)	Sep. 24, 2012 QLT Inc and QLT Ophthalmics Inc. U.S USD ($)	Sep. 24, 2012 QLT Inc and QLT Ophthalmics Inc. U.S. and Puerto Rico USD ($)	May 23, 2012 University Medical Pharmaceuticals USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Atlantis Pharma USD ($)	May 02, 2012 Atlantis Pharma USD ($)	May 02, 2012 Atlantis Pharma MXN	Mar. 13, 2012 Gerot Lannach USD ($)	Mar. 13, 2012 Gerot Lannach EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2013 Gerot Lannach USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Gerot Lannach EUR (€)	Jun. 30, 2013 Gerot Lannach USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Gerot Lannach EUR (€)	Feb. 01, 2012 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. USD ($)	Feb. 01, 2012 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. BRL	Sep. 30, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. BRL	Sep. 30, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. Minimum	Sep. 30, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. Maximum	Dec. 11, 2012 Class A Common Stock Medicis USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2013 Restructuring, Integration and Other Costs B&L USD ($)		Aug. 05, 2013 Acquisition-related Costs B&L USD ($)
Business Combinations
Par value per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0		$ 0		$ 0															$ 0.01																																																																							$ 0.014
Enterprise value																				$ 8,700,000,000
Cash consideration paid for unvested options																																																																																												4,320,000	[1]
Fair value of trade accounts receivable acquired																				547,900,000															64,000,000										90,200,000																								29,800,000
Gross contractual amount of trade accounts receivable acquired																				556,400,000															66,200,000										90,300,000																								31,100,000
Expected uncollectible of trade accounts receivable acquired																				8,500,000															2,200,000										100,000																								1,300,000
Entry to record inventory at its estimated fair value																				285,500,000																									104,600,000
Acquired IPR&D																				398,130,000	[2]					193,400,000	170,500,000	34,200,000		100,000,000					18,714,000	[3]																66,600,000							136,900,000	22,900,000
Risk-adjusted discount rate (as a percent)																													10.00%																																10.00%	11.00%
Interest rate on debt (as a percent)								1.375%	1.375%	2.50%	2.50%	1.50%	1.50%											9.875%	9.875%																												1.375%	1.375%	2.50%	2.50%	1.50%	1.50%
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(8,161,000)	(2,322,000)	(29,540,000)	(2,455,000)																				8,200,000
Deferrerd tax assets																				49,500,000
Deferred tax liability, noncurrent																				1,460,400,000															147,801,000
Fair value of pension and other benefits liabilities																				223,000,000
Goodwill	9,742,003,000		9,742,003,000		5,141,366,000	[4]								7,455,586,000	3,992,988,000	[4]	2,286,417,000	1,148,378,000	[4]	4,387,981,000	[5]										3,271,600,000	3,271,600,000	1,116,400,000	1,116,400,000	222,926,000	[6]		158,500,000	21,600,000		112,000,000			34,700,000																							120,100,000
Acquisition-related costs	8,650,000	4,605,000	24,428,000	25,977,000																			8,300,000												10,000,000															32,200,000																																												8,300,000
Revenues of acquiree since acquisition date																						500,900,000													168,900,000
Net earnings (loss), net of tax of acquiree since acquisition date																						(165,800,000)													13,800,000
Aggregate purchase price																				4,613,326,000															848,400,000		437,100,000					137,000,000			2,578,879,000																		388,500,000					807,487,000		41,700,000	107,300,000														90,500,000	158,000,000
Acquisition-related contingent consideration	125,524,000		125,524,000		102,559,000																														59,100,000					50,800,000																							99,200,000					44,200,000				7,900,000			1,500,000		7,600,000		16,800,000
Per share consideration (in dollars per share)																																					$ 24.00								$ 44.00
Upfront payment																																								66,500,000																							289,300,000										62,500,000	50,000,000	65,000,000		65,500,000	847,300,000	164,000,000	125,000,000
Potential future milestone payments																																								60,000,000																							114,000,000									20,000,000			40,000,000		8,900,000	114,700,000	19,700,000	15,000,000
Contingent refund of purchase price																																										20,000,000
Refund of contingent purchase price																																											20,000,000
Restructuring, integration and other costs	295,890,000	42,872,000	398,540,000	135,213,000																			(217,310,000)																							(2,065,000)	(5,285,000)	(15,772,000)	77,300,000		(162,952,000)
Proceeds from liquidation of investments																																														8,000,000		9,000,000	615,400,000
Sale price of worldwide rights							55,000,000
Period of payment of minimum royalties from commercialization of development product							3 years
Payment of assumed debt																																																																		37,900,000
Payments of contingent consideration	15,130,000	18,826,000	98,069,000	79,844,000																																																												1,700,000	38,300,000																6,700,000	5,000,000	6,500,000	5,000,000
Restricted cash and cash equivalents																																																																												7,900,000
Term of exclusive supply agreement																																																																															10 years	10 years
Percentage of sales relating to the acquired assets																																																																															90.00%	90.00%
Time restriction of contractual arrangement dependent on nature of claim																																																																																									2 years	5 years
Purchase price has been placed in escrow in accordance with the indemnification provisions																																																																																							12,900,000	22,500,000
Period of escrow account																																																																																							2 years	2 years
Percentage of purchase price that has been placed in escrow in accordance with the indemnification provisions																																																																																							50.00%	50.00%
Pro forma acquisition accounting adjustment on inventory sold subsequent to acquisition date	148,700,000		216,600,000
Pro forma acquisition-related costs	$ 7,200,000		$ 19,600,000

[1] The cash consideration paid for B&L stock options and restricted stock attributable to pre-combination services has been included as a component of purchase price. The remaining $4.3 million balance related to the acceleration of unvested stock options for B&L employees was recognized as a post-combination expense within Restructuring, integration and other costs in the third quarter of 2013.

[2] The significant components of the acquired in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets primarily relate to the development of (i) various vision care products ($193.4 million in the aggregate), such as a novel silicone hydrogel planned replacement lens, (ii) various pharmaceutical products ($170.5 million, in the aggregate), such as latanoprostene bunod, a nitric oxide-donating prostaglandin for reduction of elevated intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension, and (iii) various surgical products ($34.2 million, in the aggregate). See note 5 titled “COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS” for further information related to the worldwide licensing agreement with NicOx, S.A. (“NicOx”) for latanoprostene bunod. A multi-period excess earnings methodology (income approach) was used to determine the estimated fair values of the acquired IPR&D assets from market participant perspective. The projected cash flows from these assets were adjusted for the probabilities of successful development and commercialization of each project. A risk-adjusted discount rate of 10% was used to present value the projected cash flows. As of the acquisition date, the Company estimated that it will incur development costs, including certain milestone payments, of approximately $100 million, in the aggregate, to complete the development of the IPR&D assets. In determining fair value for latanoprostene bunod and the novel silicone hydrogel planned replacement lens, the Company assumed that material cash inflows for these products would commence in 2016 and 2014, respectively.

[3] The acquired IPR&D assets relate to the Obagi and Natur Produkt acquisitions. Obagi’s acquired IPR&D assets primarily relate to the development of dermatology products for anti-aging and suncare. Natur Produkt’s acquired IPR&D assets include a product indicated for the prevention of viral diseases, specifically cold and flu, and a product indicated for the treatment of inflammation and muscular disorders.

[4] Effective in the first quarter of 2013, the Company has two reportable segments: Developed Markets and Emerging Markets. Accordingly, the Company has restated prior period segment information to conform to the current period presentation. For further details, see note 20 titled “SEGMENT INFORMATION”.

[5] Goodwill is calculated as the difference between the acquisition date fair value of the consideration transferred and the values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. None of the goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. The goodwill recorded represents the following:•the Company’s expectation to develop and market new product brands, product lines and technology;•cost savings and operating synergies expected to result from combining the operations of B&L with those of the Company;•the value of the continuing operations of B&L’s existing business (that is, the higher rate of return on the assembled net assets versus if the Company had acquired all of the net assets separately); and•intangible assets that do not qualify for separate recognition (for instance, B&L’s assembled workforce).The provisional amount of goodwill has been allocated to the Company’s Developed Markets segment ($3,271.6 million) and Emerging Markets segment ($1,116.4 million).

[6] The goodwill relates primarily to the Obagi and Natur Produkt acquisitions. Goodwill is calculated as the difference between the acquisition date fair value of the consideration transferred and the values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed. None of Obagi’s and Natur Produkt’s goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. The goodwill recorded from the Obagi and the Natur Produkt acquisitions represents primarily the cost savings, operating synergies and other benefits expected to result from combining the operations with those of the Company. The amount of goodwill from the Eisai acquisition has been allocated to the Company’s Developed Markets segment. The provisional amount of goodwill from the Natur Produkt acquisition has been allocated to the Company’s Emerging Markets segment. The amount of goodwill from the Obagi acquisition has been allocated primarily to the Company’s Developed Markets segment.