A low pressure discharge lamp apparatus has a low pressure discharge lamp with an arc tube. The arc tube has a first end and a second end, each with electrodes which define a discharge space therebetween. A mercury/rare gas is sealed in the arc tube. The low pressure discharge lamp apparatus further has a lighting circuit apparatus for lighting the lamp by supplying a current with a polarity reversed for each half cycle to electrodes in the first and second ends of the arc tube. The lighting circuit apparatus supplies, to the lamp, a current whose waveform has a flat peak for each half cycle and a maximum current value of the current is restricted to less than a level in which the excitation of mercury atoms is saturated.