Edison, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Tobacco retail in Edison runs through two parallel licensing regimes. First, at the state level, every retailer selling cigarettes or other tobacco products must hold a Cigarette Retail Dealer License issued by the New Jersey Division of Taxation under the New Jersey Cigarette Tax Act at N.J.S.A. 54:40A-3; the license is renewed annually (the application is filed on the NJ Cigarette Licensing portal) and is location-specific. Second, at the local level, Code Chapter 12 (Health Regulations and Licensing) of the Edison Code requires Department of Health approval and a local health license for licensed activities within the Chapter 12 schedule, with the Edison Health Advisory Board, Division of Health, and its members empowered to enter and inspect at any reasonable hour to verify compliance. New Jersey's substantive sales-restriction stack is uniform statewide and is enforced inside Edison: (a) Tobacco 21 - N.J.S.A. 2A:170-51.4, as amended by P.L. 2017, c. 158, raised the minimum age for purchase of any tobacco or vapor product to 21 effective November 1, 2017; (b) Flavored vapor ban - the same chapter, as amended by P.L. 2019, c. 416, prohibits the sale of flavored vapor products including menthol effective April 20, 2020; (c) Access-restricted display - unless the retailer restricts establishment access to persons 21 and older, all tobacco products must be maintained behind the sales counter, in a locked cabinet, or in an employee-restricted area; (d) Retailer signage and ID-check requirements under N.J.A.C. 8:1A. Edison's Division of Health performs the local health-license inspection and may suspend or revoke the Chapter 12 license for repeated state-law violations under the parallel state Tobacco Age of Sale Enforcement (T.A.S.E.) program administered by the NJ Department of Health. Edison has not adopted a separate cap on tobacco-retail outlets, a buffer zone from schools, or a flavor ban broader than the state ban. The cannabis-retail framework adopted by Edison Council in 2022 (which authorized recreational cannabis businesses under N.J.S.A. 24:6I-31 et seq.) is administered as a separate licensing track and is not part of the tobacco-retail framework.