People go to bars for many reasons, but people do not go to bars to drink. If you wanted to drink, you could buy some booze at a liquor store and drink in the comfort of your own home, for much cheaper. You could go drink in a public park, or on the platform of a subway in any major metropolitan area in the United States. Nobody will stop you. I do it all the time. People drink at the bar because perhaps they want to meet a girl. Or perhaps they want to make new friends. Maybe they know the bartender on shift, and treat him as a therapist. Or maybe they drink at bars simply because they do not want to be home. When I was bartending I had many customers like this. Abusive spouses, shitty roommates, I accidentally locked myself out and nowhere else is open at 1:30 so I need a place to sit while I frantically call friends to see if they will let me crash on their couch. There are tons of reasons to go to bars, but drinking is simply not one of them.