Research shows that underage drinking is a major threat to the health and safety of youth, not only with drinking and driving, which is a major cause of death among teens, but also with a host of other negative consequences such as lowered academic performance, sexual assault, fights and violence resulting in personal injury. And the earlier a young person is exposed to alcohol the more likely they are to develop life-long drinking problems. However, despite legal prohibitions against anyone providing alcohol to minors, it is still easy to for them to obtain, especially at house parties. Such gatherings have been shown to be the primary source for alcohol for underage youth; and alcohol is available at gatherings of teens, research shows they tend to drink more heavily than they would in some other venues. Even so, there are some adults who are willing to provide alcohol at such venues because they believe young people will be drinking anyway and it will be less harmful if it is supervised. However, the evidence indicates both of these assumptions are false.