[thenoblesunfish]

To be literal about it, it's because drinking is the default position, in the UK. The average person drinks. I'm an American and no stranger to drinking, but even for me, living there (in the late 2000s) there seemed to be a greater assumption amongst the people around me (with the huge exception of the many Muslim people) that everyone drank.

[seer-zig]

Vices are becoming the default positions in secular societies unfortunately.

[AstralStorm]

Do you happen to have actually any data to truly make this point in a valid way?

A few of the most non-secular societies like Poland and Russia seem to belie this assertion.

Do not overestimate the power of religion here. Monks used to be purveyors of wine and spirits.

I'd wager that respectively fewer people drink now than before, mostly because other entertainment than a drinking place is now available.