Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Statements of Cash Flows) (Details) - USD ($)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash provided by operating activities		$ 4,922,000,000	$ 3,821,000,000	$ 5,843,000,000
Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Capital expenditures		(199,000,000)	(189,000,000)	(229,000,000)
Acquisitions of businesses and assets		(415,000,000)	(45,000,000)	0
Acquisition of assets			(45,000,000)
Proceeds from finance assets		133,000,000	231,000,000	354,000,000
Proceeds from AB InBev/SABMiller business combination		0	4,773,000,000	0
Purchase of AB InBev ordinary shares		0	(1,578,000,000)	0
Payment for derivative financial instruments		(5,000,000)	(3,000,000)	(132,000,000)
Proceeds from derivative financial instruments	$ 500,000,000	0	510,000,000	0
Other		19,000,000	9,000,000	(8,000,000)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities		(467,000,000)	3,708,000,000	(15,000,000)
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
Long-term debt issued		0	1,976,000,000	0
Long-term debt repaid		0	(933,000,000)	(1,793,000,000)
Repurchases of common stock		(2,917,000,000)	(1,030,000,000)	(554,000,000)
Dividends paid on common stock		(4,807,000,000)	(4,512,000,000)	(4,179,000,000)
Changes in amounts due to/from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries		0	0	0
Premiums and fees related to early extinguishment of debt		0	(809,000,000)	(226,000,000)
Cash dividends paid to parent		0	0	0
Other		(47,000,000)	(21,000,000)	(28,000,000)
Net cash used in financing activities		(7,771,000,000)	(5,329,000,000)	(6,780,000,000)
(Decrease) increase		(3,316,000,000)	2,200,000,000	(952,000,000)
Balance at beginning of year		4,569,000,000	2,369,000,000	3,321,000,000
Balance at end of year		1,253,000,000	4,569,000,000	2,369,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member]
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
Cash dividends paid to parent				0
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Altria Group, Inc. [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash provided by operating activities		6,910,000,000	4,356,000,000	5,118,000,000
Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Capital expenditures		0	0	0
Acquisitions of businesses and assets		0
Acquisition of assets			0
Proceeds from finance assets		0	0	0
Proceeds from AB InBev/SABMiller business combination			4,773,000,000
Purchase of AB InBev ordinary shares			(1,578,000,000)
Payment for derivative financial instruments		(5,000,000)	(3,000,000)	(132,000,000)
Proceeds from derivative financial instruments			510,000,000
Other		0	0	0
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities		(5,000,000)	3,702,000,000	(132,000,000)
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
Long-term debt issued			1,976,000,000
Long-term debt repaid			(933,000,000)	(1,793,000,000)
Repurchases of common stock		(2,917,000,000)	(1,030,000,000)	(554,000,000)
Dividends paid on common stock		(4,807,000,000)	(4,512,000,000)	(4,179,000,000)
Changes in amounts due to/from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries		(2,459,000,000)	(530,000,000)	814,000,000
Premiums and fees related to early extinguishment of debt			(809,000,000)	(226,000,000)
Cash dividends paid to parent		0	0
Other		(40,000,000)	(12,000,000)	(16,000,000)
Net cash used in financing activities		(10,223,000,000)	(5,850,000,000)	(5,954,000,000)
(Decrease) increase		(3,318,000,000)	2,208,000,000	(968,000,000)
Balance at beginning of year		4,521,000,000	2,313,000,000	3,281,000,000
Balance at end of year		1,203,000,000	4,521,000,000	2,313,000,000
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | PM USA [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash provided by operating activities		4,049,000,000	5,138,000,000	5,204,000,000
Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Capital expenditures		(34,000,000)	(45,000,000)	(51,000,000)
Acquisitions of businesses and assets		0
Acquisition of assets			0
Proceeds from finance assets			0	0
Proceeds from AB InBev/SABMiller business combination			0
Purchase of AB InBev ordinary shares			0
Payment for derivative financial instruments		0	0	0
Proceeds from derivative financial instruments			0
Other		4,000,000	0	10,000,000
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities		(30,000,000)	(45,000,000)	(41,000,000)
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
Long-term debt issued			0
Long-term debt repaid			0	0
Repurchases of common stock		0	0	0
Dividends paid on common stock		0	0	0
Changes in amounts due to/from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries		1,410,000,000	(28,000,000)	(495,000,000)
Premiums and fees related to early extinguishment of debt			0	0
Cash dividends paid to parent		(5,429,000,000)	(5,064,000,000)	(4,671,000,000)
Other		0	0	0
Net cash used in financing activities		(4,019,000,000)	(5,092,000,000)	(5,166,000,000)
(Decrease) increase		0	1,000,000	(3,000,000)
Balance at beginning of year		1,000,000	0	3,000,000
Balance at end of year		1,000,000	1,000,000	0
Reportable Legal Entities [Member] | Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash provided by operating activities		841,000,000	319,000,000	961,000,000
Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Capital expenditures		(165,000,000)	(144,000,000)	(178,000,000)
Acquisitions of businesses and assets		(415,000,000)
Acquisition of assets			(45,000,000)
Proceeds from finance assets		133,000,000	231,000,000	354,000,000
Proceeds from AB InBev/SABMiller business combination			0
Purchase of AB InBev ordinary shares			0
Payment for derivative financial instruments		0	0	0
Proceeds from derivative financial instruments			0
Other		15,000,000	9,000,000	(18,000,000)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities		(432,000,000)	51,000,000	158,000,000
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
Long-term debt issued			0
Long-term debt repaid			0	0
Repurchases of common stock		0	0	0
Dividends paid on common stock		0	0	0
Changes in amounts due to/from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries		1,049,000,000	558,000,000	(319,000,000)
Premiums and fees related to early extinguishment of debt			0	0
Cash dividends paid to parent		(1,449,000,000)	(928,000,000)	(769,000,000)
Other		(7,000,000)	(9,000,000)	(12,000,000)
Net cash used in financing activities		(407,000,000)	(379,000,000)	(1,100,000,000)
(Decrease) increase		2,000,000	(9,000,000)	19,000,000
Balance at beginning of year		47,000,000	56,000,000	37,000,000
Balance at end of year		49,000,000	47,000,000	56,000,000
Total Consolidating Adjustments [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net cash provided by operating activities		(6,878,000,000)	(5,992,000,000)	(5,440,000,000)
Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
Capital expenditures		0	0	0
Acquisitions of businesses and assets		0
Acquisition of assets			0
Proceeds from finance assets		0	0	0
Proceeds from AB InBev/SABMiller business combination			0
Purchase of AB InBev ordinary shares			0
Payment for derivative financial instruments		0	0	0
Proceeds from derivative financial instruments			0
Other		0	0	0
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities		0	0	0
Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
Long-term debt issued			0
Long-term debt repaid			0	0
Repurchases of common stock		0	0	0
Dividends paid on common stock		0	0	0
Changes in amounts due to/from Altria Group, Inc. and subsidiaries		0	0	0
Premiums and fees related to early extinguishment of debt			0	0
Cash dividends paid to parent		6,878,000,000	5,992,000,000	5,440,000,000
Other		0	0	0
Net cash used in financing activities		6,878,000,000	5,992,000,000	5,440,000,000
(Decrease) increase		0	0	0
Balance at beginning of year		0	0	0
Balance at end of year		$ 0	$ 0	$ 0