Man sparks concern after setting a goal to drink 2,000 pints in just 200 days for TikTok challenge

By James On Oct 12, 2023

A man is attempting to drink 2,000 pints in 200 days, but social media users are concerned about the safety of the challenge.

Sheffield-based Jon May, 25, set himself the dubious task, which involves downing an average of ten pints of beer for 200 days, and is sharing the experience on TikTok.

Jon started the mammoth challenge after learning that a man had challenged himself to drink 1,000 pints in a year and predicted he could double that figure in less time, according to Vices.

Now, on day 191 of the challenge, Jon has spent a whopping £7,772 on cider and lager, but claims the money would have been spent on alcohol anyway.

But the beer-loving individual has social media users worried with many questioning whether the experiment is healthy.

Jon May (pictured), 25, from Sheffield sparked a debate online after sharing his mission to drink 2,000 pints in 200 days

Taking to TikTok, Jon answered a query from a viewer who asked for further explanation as to why Jon wanted to take on the task.

He said: ‘I thought the best way I could try to give money to the British economy was to drink a lot of alcohol.’

Besides drinking the pints, the beer aficionado told Vice that he tracked his progress on a spreadsheet along the way.

“On the one hand, you’re essentially killing your liver, and on the other hand, you’re doing something mildly impressive,” he added.

But despite drinking an average of ten pints a day, the 25-year-old claimed not to suffer from a hangover.

In a later video he said that while he ‘certainly wouldn’t recommend the challenge to others’, it was ‘one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life’.

Since starting the drinking challenge, Jon has quit his full-time job in pursuit of TikTok fame, after gaining nearly 80 thousand followers on the platform.

Once the challenge is over, the beer enthusiast has announced plans to move into reviewing beers to social media fans.

The beer lover must drink ten pints a day to successfully complete his challenge, which he is doing to ‘give money to the UK economy’

While some followers award Jon with ‘legend’ status, others are concerned about his health and the amount of money he is spending on the challenge.

Hundreds took to the comments section to cheer Jon on. One said: ‘I aspire to be you.’

A second user simply added: ‘Legend.’

A third wrote: ‘Keep up the good work.’

A fourth added: ‘Proud of you mate.’

However, other users took to the comments section to voice their concerns. One said: ‘I would strongly advise you not to mate. It’s really not good.’

Users took to the comments section to share their thoughts on Jon’s mission, but viewers were divided

A second asked: ‘How do you afford it?’

A third wrote: ‘Alcoholism innit.’

Another said: ‘5 beers a day is crazy unless you’re drinking like a 2 per cent beer.’

It comes after British beer lovers were hit with a ‘double whammy’ of paying more to get the ‘same buzz’ as brewers reduce the strength of booze – pocketing millions of pounds in tax savings.

So how much is TOO much?

NHS recommendations state that adults should drink no more than 14 units each week.

That’s 14 single shots of spirits or six pints of beer or a bottle and a half of wine.

They should also spread their drinking over three or more days to avoid bingeing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that Americans drink no more than 14 standard alcoholic drinks per week for men and seven for women.

A standard alcoholic drink includes 12 ounces of 5 percent beer, 8 ounces of 7 percent malt liquor, 5 ounces of 12 percent wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits, including rum, gin, vodka, or whiskey.

Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol over many years has already been linked to a plethora of health issues such as high blood pressure, stroke risk, and a variety of cancers.

Major producers have been reducing the strength of their lagers for months to save cash as the government prepares to raise taxes on alcohol by more than 10 percent in August.

The move, dubbed ‘drinkflation’, means shoppers have been unwittingly buying weaker beer while being charged the same – or more, with Carlsberg today becoming the latest brand to reduce the alcohol content of its lagers.

Now landlords have hit out at the declining strength of booze as they warned of a new financial ‘timebomb’ that could drive punters away from pubs, possibly leaving drinkers with no option but to call in last orders one last time .

Ben Stanford, who runs the George and Dragon Inn in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, said: ‘It means customers are buying more products but they feel like they’re being hit with a double whammy.’

The average price of a pint has risen by 12 per cent since 2021, according to the British Beer and Pub Association, despite popular brands such as Foster’s, Old Speckled Hen, Bishops Finger and Spitfire lowering their alcohol by volume (ABV).

Copenhagen-based brewer Carlsberg is reducing the strength of its Danish Pilsner from 3.8 percent ABV to 3.4 percent, the Telegraph reports.

By reducing the strength of its beer to below 3.5 percent, Carlsberg will benefit from a new lower tax on weaker drinks when alcohol tax rates change in August.

At the moment, all beers over 2.6 per cent in strength pay a ‘general’ rate. However, the new change will mean that beer of 3.4 per cent or less in strength will pay £9.27 per liter of alcohol in the product, compared to £21.01 for beer between 3.5 per cent and 8.5 per cent.