To provide a self-ballasted fluorescent lamp capable of surely stopping a function of a lighting unit at end of life.

The self-ballasted fluorescent lamp is provided with an arc tube with an electrode sealed at each end of a glass tube for constituting a discharge channel, a resin case for retaining the arc tube by receiving the both end parts of the arc tube inside, and an inverter-system lighting unit housed in the resin case and generating high-frequency voltage by a pair of switching elements 59, 60, sealed inside a resin body 57. With this, the switching elements 59, 60 are to have a structure of storing self-generated heat, and destroy themselves only with the heat stored, when a power equivalent to the lamp input power of about twice the rated consumption power is impressed on them.

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