In the World Health Organization Project on Public Drinking, expert informants in 12 countries provided detailed information on alcohol consumption, drinking in public settings, the nature and magnitude of problems associated with public drinking, the regulation of public drinking, enforcement, and prevention. The 12 countries included Australia, Canada, Chile, Congo, Fiji, Finland, France, India, Israel, Japan, Poland, and Trinidad and Tobago. The most commonly indicated problems associated with drinking in public venues were underage drinking, impaired driving, and alcohol-related violence. Many informants expressed concern that the enforcement of alcohol licensing laws received very low priority in the political agenda. In general, few countries had developed prevention programs aimed specifically at preventing problems arising from drinking in public venues. Nonetheless, informants identified a wide variety of measures that could be taken to reduce problems in public drinking environments. These measures included general alcohol preventive education, alcohol control measures (including restrictions on hours and days of operation), improved enforcement of licensing laws, impaired driving countermeasures, server training and the use of civil law to promote responsible beverage service, and the promotion of low-alcohol-content beverages. 24 references and 3 tables