Thanks to the first amendment of the US Constitution, adult film stars are protected by law and getting paid to be filmed in porn movies is 100% legal. On the other hand, prostitution is illegal in every U.S. State except for a few counties in Nevada where you can legally visit brothels for the purpose of having sex with a prostitute.

These counties in Nevada present a rather convincing set of facts which make a strong case for legalizing prostitution in other parts of the U.S. For example, an article published in the LA Times in 2004 claims that there has been zero documented cases of HIV transmission through any legal brothel in Nevada.

This can easily be attributed to the strictly adhered to legal requirements in areas where prostitution is legal. By law, all prostitutes working in the state of Nevada are required to both use condoms and undergo STD screening on a weekly basis.

That being said, you would think that the laws would be similar for pornstars and adult film actors, right? If you said yes, six public health experts would tell you that you're very wrong. In 2012, they published this study in which they criticized the lack of adequate STD and HIV testing practices within the adult film industry.

While adult film stars are required to do urine tests on a somewhat regular basis, the 2012 study clearly identifies a high incidence of infections found in the rectum, mouth and throat regions which go undetected as a result.

A total of one hundred and sixty eight adult film actors from Los Angeles County participated in this study. An alarming 28% tested positive for gonorrhea, chlamydia or both. That's a total of 47 actors, by the way.

Based on these findings, it's safe to assume that working as a porn star in L.A. puts you at a much greater risk of transmitting an STD than if you were working as a prostitute or escort in a legal Nevada brothel!