A new study found that arteries of smokers showed signs of improvement a year after leaving the habit.

The smokers who participated in the study gained an average of 9 pounds, but still their arteries showed that problem leaning towards heart disease was avoided. The study also showed the improvement of “good cholesterol.”

People who smoke are scared to quit because of the weight gain that lies ahead. But Dr. James Stein, the study’s leader and a cardiologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that while it is true that people who stop smoking gain weight, a better health benefit can also be achieved. Besides, they can still shed the weight once they get used to not smoking.

One third of the deaths in the U.S. related to smoking are caused by heart disease. Oftentimes, a heart attack forces smokers to quit.

Quitting has been known to lessen the chance of getting or dying of lung cancer. But the clinical trial is the first to show that quitting can also give a better artery health.

The study involved 1,500 smokers divided into six groups. The first five groups were made to take methods that would hep them quit: nicotine lozenges, nicotine patches, bupropion sold as Wellbutrin and Zyban; a combination of lozenges and patches, and a combination of lozenges and bupropion. The sixth group was given a dummy treatment.

Thirty-six percent of the participants quit after one year of the study, Stein said.

Before the start of the study and a year after the smokers quit, doctors tested the health of the participants’ arteries by performing ultrasound tests on them to see how blood vessel linings relaxed and coped with the blood flow. They also stopped the blood flow in the forearm and measured the response of the artery when the flow was restored.

Only 1 percent of the quitters had an improved artery function. But according to Stein, this number could translate to 14 percent less risk in developing heart disease. The study will continue for another two years to give a more accurate answer.

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC provided the medicines used in the study as well as funding for several of the study authors. The entire study is funded by federal government grants.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and were also presented during the conference of the group on Monday.