I live in Spain. Bars are open all the time. The Spanish really like their drink (boy do they ever), and there are statistics to prove it. Yet there is little fighting, puking, stumbling around, shouting, etc. It's difficult to say why exactly. For one, being pissed drunk is actually (surprise, surprise) not really approved of. Not like in London, where stumbling around the city after the pub closed shouting and singing and making the most of not having any inhibitions is accepted. Sometimes people grin and laugh at the drunken bugger who just got on the tube. Not here. By all means, have a drink, have three, have a smoke, a line of coke, whatever, but please don't stumble around. It's just seen as very unappealing, and anyone trying to impress the ladies or to be cool around his mates would think twice before looking like a fool. Having said that, there is of course a drinking problem too here, but of a different kind. It is the "botellón" phenomenon, where young people meet in a park or in the city centre with a couple plastic glasses, ice, a bottle of spirits and some fizzy drinks to go with it. Not that they are particularly rowdy, but they are noisy, messy, and end up peeing in people's doorways. None of this has anything to do with licensing laws, I don't think. In the long run, drinking in the UK is bound to be more sensible - but it will take time. What about having more food in the pubs? That would curb the drunkenness. The say the "tapas" in Spain originated from a very old law stating that all drink should be served with a piece of bread with meat, this to taackle the problem of horse-carriage drivers getting too drunk. The size of the bread had to be large enough to cover ("tapar") the glass or jug of wine, hence the name, "tapa" (cover). That's one thing I really like about life in Spain, and which I found tough going in the UK: food is everywhere here. In the UK, pubs seldom had any food. You went there after work, drank on an empty stomach, and got drunk. It was almost as if eating got in the way of drinking, and more importantly, got in the way of getting drunk. I still managed to get the hang of it, and enjoyed my pints on an empty stomach. But in truth I'd rather have a bite (even just a bit of ham or cheese) with my beer... makes the evening last longer, and keeps me on my feet.