My SL3 went 10 years without changing the bar tape, though I didn’t ride it anywhere near that much. I still have the handlebars (but not the bar tape) and they’re fine.
Whatever about the drops/ below the hood - you’d have the lift the tape to service the cables? I’d be telling my buddies to service their bike rather than change bar tape!
Kill it before it starts breeding
At some point the tape removes itself!
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He just had cables. You can slide a new one in there. With the Jagwire Sealed lines, you can just change the liner.
I own a bike shop & have had 2 customers come in with snapped bars due to this problem, Fit new tape every 12 months & check for damage!!!
Sell those people some gloves! 
Maybe their bars need to be sprayed in some kind of epoxy paint!