FoodPharmer: Can Dabur Chyawanprash really protect you from Delhi’s smog?

Delhi’s AQI is back to breaking its own records, the kind where the sky turns beige, your throat feels like sandpaper, your phone’s weather app panics and every brand suddenly discovers the theme of “respiratory wellness”. But one ad has drawn louder-than-usual attention: Dabur Chyawanprash’s new Delhi Metro poster claiming the product is “scientifically tested to help protect your lungs from PM 2.5.”

The creative itself is striking: school kids wading through grey smog, each wearing a boxy backpack styled like a cigarette warning pack. “Smogging is injurious,” one reads. Another: “Say no to smogging.” It’s clever, cheeky, and urgent but also suspicious.

Because whenever a brand makes a big health claim in India, the internet looks over at one man: Revant Himatsingka, better known as FoodPharmer. Just as expected, FoodPharmer appeared.

A quick throwback: Dabur vs FoodPharmer—Season 1

This isn’t their first clash. Earlier, Revant had called out Dabur Real Juice, saying the brand was misleading consumers with “fruit” positioning despite high sugar content. Dabur responded the way Indian FMCG giants usually do: with a legal notice.

The notice became national news. Revant became internet-famous, and the relationship between him and the brand hasn’t exactly been warm since then.

So when Dabur dropped a campaign about lung protection, you could almost hear the background music: Yeh toh hona hi tha.

The new video: sarcasm, sugar and a challenge

Revant’s new reaction video follows his usual style: sarcastic tone, fact-checking, calling out “scientifically tested” claims and questioning sugar content in a product that positions itself as a protector against smog.

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This time, instead of just debunking, he ups the stakes.

He ends the video with a challenge: “Don’t send me a legal notice; I challenge you to a public debate instead.

It’s a spicy finale. And predictable or not, it’s pulled the conversation into mainstream attention.

So… What’s the claim here?

The key line on Dabur’s poster reads: “Scientifically tested to help protect your lungs from PM 2.5.”

Here’s a neutral breakdown of what that implies:

• Chyawanprash does contain herbs associated with immunity support. However, “protect your lungs from PM 2.5” is a very specific assertion.

• PM 2.5 refers to fine particulate matter in air pollution, tiny particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and even the bloodstream.

Dabur was approached for comment and declined to participate.