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Contingencies Contingencies (State Class Certifications) (Details) (USD $) | 12 Months Ended | 1 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013 | Feb. 28, 2014
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |
Litigation Settlement, Amount | $ 90,000,000 us-gaap_LitigationSettlementAmount | $ 664,000,000 us-gaap_LitigationSettlementAmount |
Brown Case [Member] | Lights [Member] |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |
Litigation Settlement, Amount |  |  | 764,553 us-gaap_LitigationSettlementAmount / dei_LegalEntityAxis = mo_BrownCaseMember / us-gaap_LitigationCaseAxis = mo_LightsMember
Maximum [Member] | Aspinall [Member] | Lights/Ultra Lights Class Actions [Member] |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |
Loss Contingency, Damages Sought, Value |  |  | $ 25 us-gaap_LossContingencyDamagesSoughtValue / dei_LegalEntityAxis = mo_AspinallMember / us-gaap_LitigationCaseAxis = mo_LightsUltraLightsClassActionsMember / us-gaap_RangeAxis = us-gaap_MaximumMember

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- Definition Amount of judgment or settlement awarded to (against) the entity in respect of litigation. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Details
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- Definition The value (monetary amount) of the award the plaintiff seeks in the legal matter. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14326-108349 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14435-108349 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 450 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14557-108349 + Details
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Period Type: | duration

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- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
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- Details
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Period Type: |