A gas sensor based on spontaneous Raman scattering is proposed for the compositional analysis of single breath events. A description of the sensor as well as of the calibration procedure, which also allows the quantification of condensable gases, is presented. Moreover, a comprehensive characterization of the system is carried out in order to determine the measurement uncertainty. Finally, the sensor is applied to consecutive breath events and allowed measurements with 250 ms time resolution. The Raman sensor is able to detect all the major gas components, i.e. N 2 , O 2 , CO 2 , and H 2 O at ambient pressure with a high temporal resolution. Concentration fluctuations within a single breath event could be resolved.