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Background and Basis of Presentation (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) | 3 Months Ended | 6 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 18 Months Ended |  |  |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2014 | Sep. 30, 2014 | Jun. 30, 2014 | Mar. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013 | Sep. 30, 2013 | Jun. 30, 2013 | Mar. 31, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2014 | Jun. 30, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013 | Dec. 31, 2012 | Sep. 30, 2014 | Aug. 31, 2013 | Apr. 30, 2013 | Jul. 31, 2014
Dividends Payable [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Repurchase of common stock, shares |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 22,452,599 us-gaap_TreasuryStockSharesAcquired |  | 16,652,913 us-gaap_TreasuryStockSharesAcquired | 34,860,000 us-gaap_TreasuryStockSharesAcquired |  |  |  |
Dividends declared (usd per share) | $ 0.52 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.52 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.48 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.48 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.48 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.48 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.44 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.44 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.52 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 2.00 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 0.48 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 1.84 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared | $ 1.70 us-gaap_CommonStockDividendsPerShareDeclared |  |  |  |
Annualized dividend rate |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 2.08 mo_AnnualizedDividendRate |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Treasury Stock Acquired, Average Cost Per Share |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 41.79 us-gaap_TreasuryStockAcquiredAverageCostPerShare |  | $ 36.05 us-gaap_TreasuryStockAcquiredAverageCostPerShare | $ 32.00 us-gaap_TreasuryStockAcquiredAverageCostPerShare |  |  |  |
Dividend Declared [Member] | Common Stock [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Dividends Payable [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Increase in rate of dividend |  | 8.30%mo_CommonStockDividendRateIncreaseDecreasePercentage / us-gaap_DividendsAxis = us-gaap_DividendDeclaredMember / us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis = us-gaap_CommonStockMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
April 2013 Share Repurchase Program [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Dividends Payable [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Repurchase of common stock, shares |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 27,100,000 us-gaap_TreasuryStockSharesAcquired / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_April2013ShareRepurchaseProgramMember |  |  |
Treasury Stock Acquired, Average Cost Per Share |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 36.97 us-gaap_TreasuryStockAcquiredAverageCostPerShare / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_April2013ShareRepurchaseProgramMember |  |  |
Stock Repurchase Program, Authorized Amount |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 1,000,000,000 us-gaap_StockRepurchaseProgramAuthorizedAmount1 / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_April2013ShareRepurchaseProgramMember | $ 300,000,000 us-gaap_StockRepurchaseProgramAuthorizedAmount1 / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_April2013ShareRepurchaseProgramMember |
July 2014 Share Repurchase Program [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Dividends Payable [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Repurchase of common stock, shares |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 10,400,000 us-gaap_TreasuryStockSharesAcquired / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_July2014ShareRepurchaseProgramMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Treasury Stock Acquired, Average Cost Per Share |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 46.41 us-gaap_TreasuryStockAcquiredAverageCostPerShare / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_July2014ShareRepurchaseProgramMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Stock Repurchase Program, Authorized Amount |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 1,000,000,000 us-gaap_StockRepurchaseProgramAuthorizedAmount1 / us-gaap_ShareRepurchaseProgramAxis = mo_July2014ShareRepurchaseProgramMember

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