BANGKOK (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) -- Eighty-three students at a Bangkok secondary school had to be hospitalized after overdosing on cough suppressant pills that they believed would make them smarter, immune to pain and would whiten skin, media reports said Thursday.

The sick students at Wat Tha Phra School, aged 10 to 12, were rushed to three nearby hospitals Wednesday after showing symptoms that included nausea, irregular heartbeat and severe headaches, the Bangkok Post reported.

They were found to have consumed vast quantities of dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant that if taken in excess can induce a sense of euphoria and hallucinations.

Students told authorities they had bought the tablets at a computer-game shop near the school in the belief that the medicine would make them immune to pain, brighter in class and would even whiten their skin colour.

"A senior student told me the drug had cosmetic properties and would whiten my skin and make it smoother," one girl said.

Suwamit Montriwibulchai, 24, the owner of the computer-game shop, confessed to selling some of the students the cough suppressant, which he said he used himself to feel "rejuvenated."

Police charged Suwamit with selling medicine without permission.

Drugs that would require a prescription in other countries are widely available in Thailand over the counter at pharmacies.

Copyright 2010 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH