15It should be pointed out that as the Court has consistently held (see in particular the judgments of 20 February 1979 in Case 120/76REWE [1979] ECR 649; of 10 November 1982 in Case 261/81Rau [1982] ECR 3961; and of 12 March 1987 in Case 178/84Commission v Germany (the Beer case) [1987] ECR 1227), in the absence of common rules relating to the marketing of the products concerned, obstacles to free movement within the Community resulting from disparities between the national laws must be accepted in so far as such rules, applicable without distinction to domestic and imported products, can be justified as being necessary in accordance with one of the grounds of public interest set out in Article 36 of the Treaty, such as the protection of the health of persons, or imperative requirements relating inter alia to consumer protection. Nevertheless, such regulations must be proportionate to the aim in view. If a Member State has a choice between various measures to attain the same objective, it should choose the means which least restrict free trade.