Contingencies (Verdicts and Post-Trial Developments) (Details)					1 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Aug. 05, 2016 USD ($)	Aug. 05, 2016 ARS	May 27, 2015 USD ($)	May 27, 2015 CAD	Oct. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 30, 2015 CAD	Jul. 31, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Apr. 30, 2004 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2004 BRL	Dec. 31, 2017
Brazil [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | The Smoker Health Defense Association (ADESF) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Interest rate on damages, monthly									1.00%	1.00%
Brazil [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Award per smoker per year [Member] | The Smoker Health Defense Association (ADESF) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Damages awarded									$ 305	BRL 1,000
Brazil [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cases With Verdicts And Post Trial Developments [Member] | The Smoker Health Defense Association (ADESF) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Date Of Verdict											February 2004
Verdict											The Civil Court of São Paulo found defendants liable without hearing evidence. In April 2004, the court awarded “moral damages” of R$1,000 (approximately $305) per smoker per full year of smoking plus interest at the rate of 1% per month, as of the date of the ruling. The court did not assess actual damages, which were to be assessed in a second phase of the case. The size of the class was not defined in the ruling.
Post-Trial Developments											Defendants appealed to the São Paulo Court of Appeals, which annulled the ruling in November 2008, finding that the trial court had inappropriately ruled without hearing evidence and returned the case to the trial court for further proceedings. In May 2011, the trial court dismissed the claim. Plaintiff appealed the decision. In February 2015, the appellate court unanimously dismissed plaintiff's appeal. In September 2015, plaintiff appealed to the Superior Court of Justice. In addition, the defendants filed a constitutional appeal to the Federal Supreme Tribunal on the basis that plaintiff did not have standing to bring the lawsuit. This appeal is still pending.
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cases With Verdicts And Post Trial Developments [Member] | Cecilia Letourneau [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Date Of Verdict											May 27, 2015
Verdict											On May 27, 2015, the Superior Court of the District of Montreal, Province of Quebec ruled in favor of the Létourneau class on liability and awarded a total of CAD 131 million (approximately $104 million) in punitive damages, allocating CAD 46 million (approximately $37 million) to our subsidiary. The trial court ordered defendants to pay the full punitive damage award into a trust within 60 days. The court did not order the payment of compensatory damages.
Post-Trial Developments											In June 2015, our subsidiary commenced the appellate process with the Court of Appeal of Quebec. Our subsidiary also filed a motion to cancel the trial court’s order for payment into a trust notwithstanding appeal. In July 2015, the Court of Appeal granted the motion to cancel and overturned the trial court’s ruling that our subsidiary make the payment into a trust. In August 2015, plaintiffs filed a motion for security with the Court of Appeal covering both the Létourneau case and the Blais case described below. In October 2015, the Court of Appeal granted the motion and ordered our subsidiary to furnish security totaling CAD 226 million (approximately $180 million) to cover both the Létourneau and Blais cases. The hearing for the merits appeal took place in November 2016. (See below for further detail.)
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cases With Verdicts And Post Trial Developments [Member] | Conseil Quebecois Sur Le Tabac Et La Sante and Jean-Yves Blais [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Date Of Verdict											May 27, 2015
Verdict											On May 27, 2015, the Superior Court of the District of Montreal, Province of Quebec ruled in favor of the Blais class on liability and found the class members’ compensatory damages totaled approximately CAD 15.5 billion (approximately $12.3 billion), including pre-judgment interest. The trial court awarded compensatory damages on a joint and several liability basis, allocating 20% to our subsidiary (approximately CAD 3.1 billion including pre-judgment interest (approximately $2.5 billion)). The trial court awarded CAD 90,000 (approximately $71,500) in punitive damages, allocating CAD 30,000 (approximately $23,900) to our subsidiary. The trial court ordered defendants to pay CAD 1 billion (approximately $795 million) of the compensatory damage award, CAD 200 million (approximately $159 million) of which is our subsidiary’s portion, into a trust within 60 days.
Post-Trial Developments											In June 2015, our subsidiary commenced the appellate process with the Court of Appeal of Quebec. Our subsidiary also filed a motion to cancel the trial court’s order for payment into a trust notwithstanding appeal. In July 2015, the Court of Appeal granted the motion to cancel and overturned the trial court’s ruling that our subsidiary make the payment into a trust. In August 2015, plaintiffs filed a motion for security with the Court of Appeal. In October 2015, the Court of Appeal granted the motion and ordered our subsidiary to furnish security totaling, together with the Létourneau case, CAD 226 million (approximately $180 million). The hearing for the merits appeal took place in November 2016. (See below for further detail.)
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cecilia Letourneau [Member] | Judicial Ruling [Member] | Imperial Tobacco Ltd., Rothmans, Benson And Hedges Inc., And JTI Macdonald Corp. [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Punitive damages awarded			$ 104,000,000	CAD 131,000,000
Payment period for awarded punitive damages to be deposited into trust			60 days	60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cecilia Letourneau [Member] | Judicial Ruling [Member] | Rothmans, Benson, And Hedges Inc. (RBH) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Punitive damages awarded			$ 37,000,000	CAD 46,000,000
Payment period for awarded punitive damages to be deposited into trust			60 days	60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cecilia Letourneau [Member] | Appellate Ruling [Member] | Rothmans, Benson, And Hedges Inc. (RBH) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Payment period for awarded punitive damages to be deposited into trust							60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cecilia Letourneau [Member] | Pending Litigation [Member] | Rothmans, Benson, And Hedges Inc. (RBH) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Payment period for awarded punitive damages to be deposited into trust								60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Conseil Quebecois Sur Le Tabac Et La Sante and Jean-Yves Blais [Member] | Judicial Ruling [Member] | Imperial Tobacco Ltd., Rothmans, Benson And Hedges Inc., And JTI Macdonald Corp. [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Punitive damages awarded			$ 71,500	CAD 90,000
Compensatory damages awarded			12,300,000,000	15,500,000,000
Awarded compensatory damages that are to be deposited into trust			$ 795,000,000	CAD 1,000,000,000
Payment period for compensatory damages to be deposited into trust			60 days	60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Conseil Quebecois Sur Le Tabac Et La Sante and Jean-Yves Blais [Member] | Judicial Ruling [Member] | Rothmans, Benson, And Hedges Inc. (RBH) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Punitive damages awarded			$ 23,900	CAD 30,000
Compensatory damages awarded			$ 2,500,000,000	CAD 3,100,000,000
Damages allocated to subsidiary (percent)			20.00%	20.00%
Awarded compensatory damages that are to be deposited into trust			$ 159,000,000	CAD 200,000,000
Payment period for compensatory damages to be deposited into trust			60 days	60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Conseil Quebecois Sur Le Tabac Et La Sante and Jean-Yves Blais [Member] | Appellate Ruling [Member] | Rothmans, Benson, And Hedges Inc. (RBH) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Payment period for awarded punitive damages to be deposited into trust							60 days
Canada [Member] | Smoking And Health Class Actions [Member] | Cecilia Letourneau & Conseil Quebecois Sur La Tabac Et La Sante and Jean-Yves Blais Cases [Member] | Appellate Ruling [Member] | Rothmans, Benson, And Hedges Inc. (RBH) [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Amount of security ordered to be furnished					$ 180,000,000	CAD 226,000,000
Argentina [Member] | Smoking And Health Individual Actions [Member] | Cases With Verdicts And Post Trial Developments [Member] | Hugo Lespada [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Date Of Verdict											August 5, 2016
Verdict											On August 5, 2016, the Civil Court No. 14 - Mar del Plata, issued a verdict in favor of plaintiff, an individual smoker, and awarded him ARS 110,000 (approximately $5,558), plus interest, in compensatory and moral damages. The trial court found that our subsidiary failed to warn plaintiff of the risk of becoming addicted to cigarettes.
Post-Trial Developments											On August 23, 2016, our subsidiary filed its notice of appeal. On October 31, 2017, the Civil and Commercial Court of Appeals of Mar del Plata ruled that plaintiff's claim was barred by the statute of limitations and it reversed the trial court's decision. On November 28, 2017, plaintiff filed an extraordinary appeal of the reversal of the trial court's decision to the Supreme Court of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Argentina [Member] | Smoking And Health Individual Actions [Member] | Hugo Lespada [Member] | Judicial Ruling [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Compensatory damages awarded	$ 5,558	ARS 110,000