Breath sensor calibration methods and apparatus are described herein where a breath sensor device may generally comprise a sampling unit having a housing configured to receive a sample breath from a user and a sensor positioned within the housing. A processor in electrical communication with the sensor may be configured to determine a dissipation time when the sensor is exposed to a near-constant concentration level of CO detected from the breath sample down to an ambient level of CO detected. The processor may also be configured to calculate a time constant based on the dissipation time and a reduction from the near-constant concentration level to the ambient level. Furthermore, the processor may also be configured to apply the time constant to a transient response of the sensor to account for drift in calibrating the sensor.