Let f be a density on R^d, and let f_n be the kernel estimate of f, f_n(x) = (nh^d)^{-1} \sum^n_{i=1} K((x - X_i)/h) where h = h_n is a sequence of positive numbers, and K is an absolutely integrable function with \int K(x) dx = 1. Let J_n = \int |f_n(x) - f(x)| dx. We show that when \lim_nh = 0 and \lim_nnh^d = \infty, then for every \varepsilon > 0 there exist constants r, n_0 > 0 such that P(J_n \geq \varepsilon) \leq \exp(-rn), n \geq n_0. Also, when J_n \rightarrow 0 in probability as n \rightarrow \infty and K is a density, then \lim_nh = 0 and \lim_nnh^d = \infty.