Parents plead not guilty after teen party – The Boston Globe

According to statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately 5,000 youths under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking, including about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes.

An annual survey indicated that about three out of four high school seniors, two out of three sophomores, and two out of five eighth-graders have consumed alcohol.

The institute also found that drinking at an early age puts a person at risk of developing alcohol dependency in adulthood.