Unlike the U.S., which prohibits drinking before age 21, various European nations have drinking ages of 18, 16, 14, or no age limit at all. On the other hand, local cultures often frown sternly upon public drunkenness.

Some underage American tourists plan their European vacations based in part on local drinking ages, tapping resources like the guidebook "Party Europe 2005" and websites like PubClub.com.

Some students and visitors say that they quickly adapt to drinking as part of the cultures they are experiencing. However, unlike in the U.S., where heavy drinking enjoys a measure of tolerance, getting drunk can be a social problem for overseas visitors.

"[Europeans] just historically have had a much healthier, more accepting attitude toward drinking," said David J. Hanson, Ph.D., a sociology professor emeritus from State University of New York at Potsdam. "But they are rather intolerant of alcohol abuse."

Italian teens, for example, are "very intolerant of their peers who become intoxicated," Hanson said, detailing results from a research study. "It's a very easy way to get excluded from a group ... they think it's stupid, unacceptable, and that's true throughout most of Europe."

Drunk-driving laws also are very strict, he noted.

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