BUSINESS COMBINATIONS - Narrative (Details)	12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended								3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended							0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended								0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		8 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2013 Actavis Specialty Brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Acquired IPR&D USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 9.875% Senior Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Dec. 31, 2013 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 31, 2013 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Aug. 05, 2013 B&L USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L Product brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L Various Vision Care Products USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L Various Pharmaceutical Products USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L Various Surgical Products USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L IPR&D	Sep. 30, 2013 B&L Restructuring, Integration and Other Costs USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 B&L 9.875% Senior Notes USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 B&L 9.875% Senior Notes	May 24, 2013 B&L 9.875% Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Business Combinations Product brands USD ($)	Apr. 25, 2013 Obagi Medical Products, Inc USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Obagi Medical Products, Inc Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Obagi Medical Products, Inc Emerging Markets USD ($)	Feb. 01, 2013 Natur Produkt USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Natur Produkt Emerging Markets USD ($)	Feb. 20, 2013 Eisai USD ($)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicis USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Medicis USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Medicis USD ($)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Minimum	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Medicis Product brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Medicis Actavis Specialty Brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Medicis Development of dermatology products for treatment of bacterial vaginosis USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Medicis Development of several aesthetics programs USD ($)	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 2.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2032	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 1.5% Contingent Convertible Senior Notes due in 2033	Dec. 11, 2012 Medicis 1.375% Convertible Senior Notes due in 2017	Jun. 18, 2012 OraPharma USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 OraPharma USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 OraPharma USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 OraPharma Product brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 2012 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 2012 Other Business Combinations USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 2012 Other Business Combinations Product brands USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2012 Johnson and Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2012 Johnson and Johnson North America USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 QLT Inc and QLT Ophthalmics Inc. 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 ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Atlantis Pharma USD ($)	May 02, 2012 Atlantis Pharma USD ($)	May 02, 2012 Atlantis Pharma MXN	Mar. 13, 2012 Gerot Lannach USD ($)	Mar. 13, 2012 Gerot Lannach EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2013 Gerot Lannach USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Gerot Lannach EUR (€)	Feb. 01, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. USD ($)	Feb. 01, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. BRL	Dec. 31, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. BRL	Dec. 31, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. Minimum	Dec. 31, 2013 Probiotica Laboratorios Ltda. Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 iNova USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 iNova USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 iNova USD ($)	Dec. 21, 2011 iNova USD ($)	Dec. 21, 2011 iNova AUD	Dec. 31, 2012 iNova Product brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 iNova Developed Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 iNova Emerging Markets USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 iNova Canada and Australia [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Dermik USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Dermik Product brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Dermik Canada USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 Ortho Dermatologics USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Ortho Dermatologics USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Ortho Dermatologics Product brands	Oct. 17, 2013 Afexa USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Afexa USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Afexa	Oct. 17, 2011 Afexa USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Afexa Product brands USD ($)	Sep. 15, 2011 Sanitas USD ($)	Aug. 19, 2011 Sanitas USD ($)	Aug. 19, 2011 Sanitas USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Sanitas product country	Dec. 31, 2011 Sanitas USD ($)	Sep. 22, 2011 Sanitas EUR (€)	Sep. 02, 2011 Sanitas EUR (€)	Aug. 17, 2011 Sanitas USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Sanitas Product brands	Aug. 19, 2011 Sanitas Product brands USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Elidel and Xerese USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Elidel and Xerese USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Elidel and Xerese USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Elidel and Xerese USD ($)	Jun. 29, 2011 Elidel and Xerese USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2014 Elidel and Xerese Subsequent event USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Elidel and Xerese Acquired IPR&D	Mar. 10, 2011 PharmaSwiss USD ($)	Mar. 10, 2011 PharmaSwiss EUR (€)	May 31, 2012 PharmaSwiss USD ($)	May 31, 2012 PharmaSwiss EUR (€)	Feb. 28, 2011 PharmaSwiss USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 PharmaSwiss therapeutic_area country	Dec. 31, 2011 PharmaSwiss USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2011 PharmaSwiss EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 PharmaSwiss Product brands USD ($)
Business Combinations
Par value per share of common stock (in dollars per share)																$ 0.01																								$ 0.014
Enterprise value																$ 8,700,000,000
Cash consideration paid for unvested options																									4,300,000
Fair value of accounts receivable																	544,374,000												65,322,000															90,208,000													10,348,000		29,829,000																								30,525,000															7,912,000					25,645,000	25,645,000																					61,629,000
Gross contractual amount of trade accounts receivable acquired																	555,600,000												68,300,000															90,300,000													10,300,000		31,100,000																								31,500,000															7,900,000								27,800,000																			66,800,000
Expected uncollectible of trade accounts receivable acquired																	11,200,000												3,000,000															100,000															1,300,000																								1,000,000																							2,200,000																			5,200,000
Entry to record inventory at its estimated fair value																	273,700,000																											104,600,000																																																																																	18,200,000
Acquired IPR&D																	418,252,000				226,500,000	171,000,000	20,800,000						18,951,000															159,809,000					66,600,000	136,900,000	22,900,000						28,615,000		1,234,000																																				4,318,000								747,000	747,000									33,500,000
Risk-adjusted discount rate																								10.00%																						10.00%	11.00%																																																																		13.00%
Interest rate on debt (as a percent)												9.875%	2.50%	1.50%	1.375%												9.875%	9.875%																								2.50%	1.50%	1.375%
Loss on extinguishment of debt	65,014,000	20,080,000	36,844,000									8,161,000														8,200,000
Deferred tax assets																	77,300,000
Deferred tax liability, noncurrent																	1,464,200,000												152,548,000																																																														1,262,000				1,690,000
Fair value of pension and other benefits liabilities																	224,200,000
Goodwill	9,752,100,000	5,141,366,000	3,581,512,000		7,428,739,000	3,992,988,000	2,530,976,000	2,323,361,000	1,148,378,000	1,050,536,000							4,362,420,000		3,226,700,000	1,135,700,000									232,840,000						158,500,000	21,600,000		40,900,000						1,353,964,000													120,057,000		62,013,000																								201,927,000					119,500,000	82,400,000		11,076,000				2,592,000			8,982,000					204,791,000	204,791,000																					159,660,000
Acquisition-related costs	36,416,000	78,604,000	32,964,000														14,100,000												11,300,000															32,200,000
Revenues of acquiree since acquisition date																	1,345,700,000												269,400,000
Net earnings (loss), net of tax of acquiree since acquisition date																	(28,100,000)												39,200,000
Aggregate purchase price																	4,613,326,000												898,131,000																														807,487,000																																				345,194,000
Acquisition-related contingent consideration																													59,100,000										50,800,000																99,200,000					44,200,000					7,900,000			1,500,000		7,600,000		16,800,000													44,500,000																																		27,500,000
Per Share Consideration (in dollars per share)																																		$ 24.00						$ 44.00																																																																			€ 10.06	€ 10.06
Aggregate purchase price																4,613,326,000																		437,100,000			149,900,000			2,578,879,000																						41,700,000	107,300,000													90,500,000	158,000,000
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												656,700,000	657,900,000																														76,000,000
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												59,900,000	60,000,000																														16,000,000			41,700,000	30,000,000
Contingent refund of purchase price																																					20,000,000
Restructuring, integration and other costs	514,825,000	344,387,000	97,667,000														234,060,000													14,423,000	46,941,000	134,821,000											77,300,000	23,589,000	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
Aggregate purchase price																																												2,578,879,000													388,500,000																										701,181,000								421,612,000							91,530,000					448,163,000	448,163,000																					518,708,000
Payment of assumed debt																																																							37,900,000
Payments of contingent consideration	130,060,000	103,926,000	31,800,000																																																					40,000,000																		20,100,000	15,000,000																																						44,500,000	88,000,000	28,500,000		10,000,000
Gain (loss) on acquisition-related contingent consideration, liability																																																																7,500,000
Restricted cash and cash equivalents																																																																					8,200,000
Term of exclusive supply agreement																																																																								10 years	10 years
Percentage of sales related to acquired assets																																																																								90.00%	90.00%
Time restriction of contractual arrangement																																																																																2 years	5 years
Purchase price has been place in escrow in accordance with the indemnification provisions																																																																														12,900,000	22,500,000
Percentage of purchase price that has been placed in escrow in accordance with the indemnification provisions																																																																														50.00%	50.00%
Gain (loss) on acquisition-related contingent consideration, asset	29,259,000	5,266,000	10,986,000																																																																															5,500,000	10,300,000																														20,000,000	(6,500,000)	(11,200,000)										13,200,000
Notional amount of foreign currency forward-exchange contract purchased																																																																																						625,000,000																																								130,000,000
Gain on settlement of foreign currency forward-exchange contract																																																																																				16,400,000																																							5,100,000
Classified as Assets held for sale																																																																																										10,200,000
Goodwill, expected tax deductible amount																																																																																													6,400,000
Weighted- Average Useful Lives (Years)																	9 years	10 years											8 years				7 years											9 years				8 years									12 years	12 years	10 years		10 years																						8 years				8 years				9 years	9 years				9 years		10 years			11 years					8 years				7 years								8 years							7 years		9 years
Recognized charge to wrote-off the IPR&D asset related to MC5 program	153,639,000	189,901,000	109,200,000																																																																																											4,300,000
Outstanding common shares acquired, percentage																																																																																																			100.00%	73.80%		98.40%	92.00%	92.00%
Outstanding common shares acquired																																																																																																				80,929,921		30,593,656	28,625,025	28,625,025
Cash consideration																																																																																																	67,700,000																						491,200,000	353,100,000
Noncontrolling interest, percent																																																																																																				26.20%			8.00%	8.00%			1.60%
Noncontrolling interest, fair value																	102,700,000												11,196,000																																																																							23,800,000			34,800,000	34,800,000					21,100,000
Minority shareholders sale of ordinary shares owned																																																																																																											512,264
Percentage of additional voting interests acquired																																																																																																						6.40%	87.20%	4.80%
Additional cash consideration paid																75,000,000																																																																																						27,400,000	392,300,000
Additional outstanding common shares acquired																																																																																																						1,968,631		1,502,432
Number of products in product portfolio																																																																																																									390
Number of countries of operation																																																																																																									9																			19
Amount of minimum royalty to be paid																																																																																																																				120,000,000
Amount of additional minimum royalty to be paid																																																																																																																				120,000,000
Fair value of upfront and contingent consideration																																																																																																																				437,700,000
Product brands intangible assets																	4,342,375,000	1,784,160,000											726,726,000				520,261,000											1,368,881,000				466,750,000									402,313,000	384,508,000	668,146,000		455,395,000																						421,762,000				416,064,000				343,649,000	294,288,000			333,599,000			74,730,000			59,344,000		247,127,000	247,127,000							164,823,000		406,400,000												209,240,000		79,057,000
Acquisitions, deferred income tax liability																																																																																																																	(2,200,000)
Impairment charges											24,700,000																																																																																																					24,700,000
Other payments to acquire businesses																																																																																																																									12,400,000	10,000,000
Foreign exchange loss recognized on amount bought to finance business acquisition																																																																																																																											2,400,000
Remaining foreign currency consideration used to finance transaction of business combination																																																																																																																														220,000,000
Net foreign exchange gain recognized in earnings	(9,465,000)	19,721,000	26,551,000																																																																																																																										2,700,000
Number of therapeutic areas in which broad product portfolio is offered																																																																																																																												7
Pro forma acquisition accounting adjustment on inventory sold subsequent to acquisition date	369,900,000
Pro forma acquisition-related costs	$ 25,300,000