XML 135 R114.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.3.1.900

Contingencies (Federal Government's Lawsuit Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions | 1 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2011 | Jun. 30, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2015 | Dec. 31, 2014 | Dec. 31, 2013
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Loss contingency, amount of district court deposit |  |  | $ 57.0 | $ 8.0 | $ 19.0
Federal Governments Lawsuit [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Amount of alleged annual costs health care programs, minimum |  |  | 20,000.0 |  |
Damages sought, value |  |  | 280,000.0 |  |
Federal Governments Lawsuit [Member] | Philip Morris USA [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Loss contingency, amount of district court deposit | $ 3.1 |  |  |  |
Loss contingency installment period, years | 5 years |  |  |  |
Implementation of Corrective Communications [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Provision related to litigation recorded |  |  | $ 0.0 | $ 31.0 | $ 0.0
Implementation of Corrective Communications [Member] | Federal Governments Lawsuit [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Provision related to litigation recorded |  | $ 31.0 |  |  |
Implementation of Corrective Communications [Member] | Federal Governments Lawsuit [Member] | Philip Morris USA [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Provision related to litigation recorded |  | $ 31.0 |  |  |

X
- Definition Loss Contingency, Alleged Annual Health Care Costs + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mo_LossContingencyAllegedAnnualHealthCareCosts
Namespace Prefix: | mo_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Loss Contingency, Payment Period + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mo_LossContingencyPaymentPeriod
Namespace Prefix: | mo_
Data Type: | xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of payments made reducing loss contingency liability. + 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 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingencyAccrualCarryingValuePayments
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount charged against operating income increasing loss contingency liability, after adjustments to reduce previously estimated charges. + 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 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingencyAccrualProvision
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- 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 9 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14557-108349 Reference 3: 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 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingencyDamagesSoughtValue
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LitigationCaseAxis=mo_FederalGovernmentsLawsuitMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | dei_LegalEntityAxis=mo_PhilipMorrisUSAMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=mo_ImplementationofCorrectiveCommunicationsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |