A hand-held device detects the presence of a preselected substance in the breath. A deformable housing forms a test chamber for interacting an indicator reagent with the breath. The contents of the test chamber are exposed to the breath introduced into the chamber. The presence of a substance in the breath causes the indicator reagent to undergo a visually ascertainable change. The indicator reagent is secured within the test chamber between a pair of filter plugs having plural detents prevent slippage of the filters. Additional embodiments lower the user's risk of being cut by glass shards, prevent reagent inhalation, enhance the visual aspects of the device, and physically indicate the presence of breath flowing through the device.