Some 4,000 empty beer and wine bottles have today been left on the floor of Copenhagen Central Station to provoke Danes into talking about alcohol addiction, DR reports.

That is at least the ambition of the Lænke-clinics Foundation, which provides alcohol addiction treatment and counselling, anonymously and for free. 

Today's event, 'Do you dare to talk about it?', aims to draw attention to the foundation's Alcohol Week open-house that will run next week.

The 4,000 bottles symbolise the harmful alcoholic intake that more than 585,000 Danes indulge in today – one in every tenth Dane.

Find the courage to ask for help
According to Mikael Jakshøj, the chief executive of the Lænke-clinics Foundation, Danes are very bad at talking about their alcohol problems, and he believes this event should help to change that.

"We hope people will start talking and that they will start to notice if their friends, family members or colleagues drink too much," Jakshøj told DR.

"And we hope that they can find the courage to talk to them about it, so they can get the help they need."

Parents be more involved
A study by the Danish Cancer Society and TrygFondens has proven that talking about alcohol problems helps. 

Data from the campaign 'Drunk on life' (Fuld af liv'), which focused on the drinking habits of 2,000 Danish adolescents, showed that those who don't talk about alcohol with their parents end up drinking more often than those who do. 

The survey also suggested that about half of the interviewed wished their parents were more interested in how much they drink.