Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Earnings (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 6,242	$ 6,108	$ 18,376	$ 17,671
Cost of sales	1,982	1,883	5,860	5,708
Excise taxes on products	1,776	1,780	5,336	5,398
Gross profit	2,484	2,445	7,180	6,565
Marketing, administration and research costs	548	581	1,678	1,853
Changes to Mondelez and PMI tax-related receivables	(48)	(19)	(48)	(19)
Asset impairment and exit costs	10	0	47	3
Amortization of intangibles	5	5	15	16
Operating income	1,969	1,878	5,488	4,712
Interest and other debt expense, net	282	293	868	865
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	874	0	874	0
Earnings from equity investment in SABMiller	(230)	(208)	(973)	(552)
Earnings before income taxes	1,043	1,793	4,719	4,399
Provision for income taxes	386	619	1,641	1,843
Net earnings	657	1,174	3,078	2,556
Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	(1)	(1)	(2)
Net earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	$ 657	$ 1,173	$ 3,077	$ 2,554
Per share data:
Basic earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	$ 0.32	$ 0.57	$ 1.51	$ 1.23
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc.	$ 0.32	$ 0.57	$ 1.51	$ 1.23
Dividends declared	$ 0.44	$ 0.41	$ 1.26	$ 1.17